Other senses

Snipe can grab wriggling worms from deep in the mud

Birds have a full range of senses, as well as eyesight. They can hear, smell and feel the world around them - and some have a few special tricks of their own.

Hidden hearing

The ‘ears’ of a long-eared owl are really just tufts of feathers for camouflage. You can’t see a bird’s real ears, since the openings are mostly hidden by feathers. But birds have excellent hearing – otherwise what would be the point of all that singing? They can detect shorter and lower sounds than we can, which helps them to hear soft contact calls and recognise each other’s songs.

Hunting by ear

An owl’s hearing is super-sensitive. One of its ears is set lower than the other, which causes a split-second delay in the sound that reaches each one. This difference helps the owl to pinpoint prey without using sight at all, and swoop down to catch it in total darkness.

Sniffing it out

Some birds, including vultures (that live in India) and albatrosses (that roam the seas), use smell to help track down their food. The kiwi, which lives in New Zealand, finds its food entirely by smell, and it is the only bird whose nostrils are on the tip of its beak. Scientists also think that smell may help some birds to find their way during migration, by allowing them to sniff out approaching weather or detect the land below.

Touchy-feely feeding

A snipe’s long beak looks stiff and brittle, but the tip is actually soft and sensitive. It is a special adaptation that means it can feel and grab a wriggling worm deep under the mud, even when the rest of its beak is closed.