Ultraviolet sensitivity and colour vision in raptor foraging
Författare
Summary, in English
Raptors have excellent vision, yet it is unclear how they use colour information. It has been suggested that raptors use ultraviolet (UV) reflections from vole urine to find good hunting grounds. In contrast, UV plumage colours in songbirds such as blue tits are assumed to be 'hidden' communication signals, inconspicuous to raptors. This ambiguity results from a lack of knowledge about raptor ocular media transmittance, which sets the limit for UV sensitivity. We measured ocular media transmittance in common buzzards (Buteo buteo), sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus), red kites (Milvus milvus) and kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) so that, for the first time, raptor UV sensitivity can be fully described. With this information, and new measurements of vole urine reflectance, we show that (i) vole urine is unlikely to provide a reliable visual signal to hunting raptors and (ii) blue tit plumage colours are more contrasting to blue tits than to sparrowhawks because of UV reflectance. However, as the difference between blue tit and sparrowhawk vision is subtle, we suggest that behavioural data are needed to fully resolve this issue. UV cues are of little or no importance to raptors in both vole and songbird interactions and the role of colour vision in raptor foraging remains unclear.
Avdelning/ar
Publiceringsår
2013
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
1819-1826
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Journal of Experimental Biology
Volym
216
Issue
10
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
The Company of Biologists Ltd
Ämne
- Zoology
Nyckelord
- ultraviolet reflectance
- ocular media transmittance
- bird vision
- raptor
- hunting behaviour
- visual modelling
- vole urine
Status
Published
Forskningsgrupp
- Lund Vision Group
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 1477-9145