CAN BIRDS SEE GLASS?
CAN BIRDS SEE GLASS?
Either you've heard of this concept in movies or witnessed it in real life, you have propably wondered if aves can see glass. The above image shows a senario similar to what happened at my school yesterday: a bird flying into the window. Thankfully, the bird was a Streptopelia decaocto (Eurasian Collared Dove) so it didn't really get much damage and flew away in seconds, however smalled birds don't have the same luck. In this post I will answer this long-asked question and I will also give you some tips on how to prevent birds from doing a (quite literally) kamikazi at your windows.
Can Birds See Glass?
Glass is as we know a transparent material, even though we can for a fact see it; but birds can't. Why so? You see, Homo Sapiens didn't get the "sapient" in its name for no reason! We indeed learn from our mistakes pretty quickly, and we tend to recognize many different things that birds cannot, such as dust and dirt in the glass; however, young kids tend to also sometimes collide with glass.
Highly Reflective Glass: The Bird Murderer
You might think that birds would avoid reflective glass because they would notice their impression; that is indeed both true and false. They do possibly notice their reflections, but they of course also notice the reflection of what is behind them, making them think that there is another destination which the glass is some sort of "door" to.
An American Robin Seen attempting to "explore" the reflection of the forest behind.
So, the short answer is No, birds can neither see glass nor notice the cues of its existance.
What Should we to Prevent Birds From Hitting Glass?
Τhere are many ways to help us prevent birds from colliding with windows, one of the most popular being adding a pattern in them. It can be dots, squares or just a nice looking design. Many zoos use similar designs to prevent their animals from colliding with glass.
By simply using bird-safe glass or adding patterns to your normal glass, you can save millions of birds lives, so why not?
Thank You For Reading!
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Bibliography and Sources
"Birds and Glass Don't Mix" by Dr.Christine Sheppard
-Aggelos Mantos
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