What bird has an eye that’s bigger than its brain?
A Fun Fact About Ostrich Eyes
It’s amazing how little we really understand about some of the most basic features of birds. If you have ever noticed that ostriches and parrots look a lot like smaller versions of their relatives such as chickens and ducks, then you are not alone in assuming that these creatures have brains similar to those of other animals. Although there is a lot of disagreement among palaeontologists as to the exact characteristics of the brain and how it evolved, a lot of what we do know is based on indirect evidence from fossils. For instance, it is known that dinosaurs had brains, but they were much different from the size and shape of modern birds. Even though it is not clear exactly where the idea of an egg-laying organ originated, most palaeontologists believe it dates back to the time when dinosaurs started using nest boxes as their homes.
This is where the ideas of primitive nests and the importance of food storage came into play. The eggs laid by ostriches must have contained more food than was visible to the eyes of the female when she was roaming the jungle. In order for this to be true, the eggs would have been buried in layers of earth that would eventually have to be recovered and interpreted. One theory is that the holes were made by the long-necked dinosaur that walked the earth and ate the vegetation around it. Another theory is that the holes were made by prey animals as they tried to escape from predators.
Of course, whether ostriches laid eggs or played with the holes in the earth, the question of the obvious question which bird has a brain smaller than either of its eyeballs still remains. Scientists have actually been able to measure the brain sizes of several different types of birds and they were able to determine that they did indeed differ. The result of this study was published in 2021 in the Journal of Ornithology. To put it in simple terms, ostriches have bigger brains. So the next time you look at your favorite animal and ask what animal has a brain smaller than either of its eyeballs, you might want to know the answer.
In order to measure the brain size of different types of birds, scientists needed a way to determine which bird has a brain smaller than either of its eyeballs. Luckily for them, they came up with an ingenious study that involved using billiard balls. What the study showed was that ostriches, which are primarily arboreal birds, do in fact have brains that are significantly larger than those of some land animals such as mice. Not only did the scientists conclude that ostriches have bigger brains than some other land animals, but they also determined that the specific organ that makes up the brains of ostriches is different from the one that makes up the brains of other animals. This study, which was published in 2021 in the Journal of Ornithology showed that the two parts of the brain that make up an ostrich’s brain are different than those of other animals.
In order to figure out which animal has a brain smaller than either of its eyeballs, scientists had to use something that is similar to a computer program to determine which animals have different brain sizes. What the study showed was that there are certain characteristics that are common among different types of animals and those characteristics can be used to determine the different sizes of the brains of those animals. For example, birds have certain features, such as their head shape, and their body size. By comparing the features of the various animals including ostriches, the scientists were able to determine which one has a brain that is a lot larger than its eyeball. In fact, they determined that an ostrich’s eyeball is about 20 percent bigger than an ostrich’s brain.
In addition to finding out which bird has a bigger brain, the scientists were also able to determine which kind of animal has an unusual amount of activity in its eye-hoods. The presence of colored feathers in an animal’s eyes is called arrhythmia and it can be a good way to determine what type of animal has a brain that is working in a different way than other animals. The study was able to see that only three out of twenty-three ornithologists showed a strong presence of color in their bird’s eye-tails. Which animal has a brain working in a different way than other ones is a fun fact that many people like to think about.