This is Bird Note.

Ever heard the term eagle eye?

An eagle's vision is incredibly sharp, and its eyes can weigh more than its brain.

The secret to the bird's exceptional vision is the density of visual cells,

the rods and cones of its retina.

Rods in the eye register the overall shape of objects, while the cones register details,

contour and color.

The rods and cones in a raptor's eye may be five times more dense than those in a human eye.

The golden eagle soars on a seven-foot wingspan,

riding thermals high into the air.

From there, it can spot the minute movements of its favorite prey, a rabbit,

from over a mile away.

That's like you driving 40 miles an hour and being able to look back at where you were

when this bird note started and spotting that same rabbit.

Head over to our website birdnote.org to learn more.

For bird note, I'm Ashley Aherne.

Did you know you can listen to bird note as a podcast whenever you want?

You'll even get some extended episodes we can't fit on the radio.

Get even more birds in your life.

Just search birdnote in your podcast app.

Visit birdnote.org