عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Scientists Solve Mystery of Sharp Falcon Eye

A man displays a falcon which was sold for $173,000 during Saudi Falcons Club Auction in King Abdulaziz Festival in Mulham, north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 13, 2020. (Media Center Saudi Falcons Club Auction via Reuters)
A man displays a falcon which was sold for $173,000 during Saudi Falcons Club Auction in King Abdulaziz Festival in Mulham, north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 13, 2020. (Media Center Saudi Falcons Club Auction via Reuters)
TT
TT

Scientists Solve Mystery of Sharp Falcon Eye

A man displays a falcon which was sold for $173,000 during Saudi Falcons Club Auction in King Abdulaziz Festival in Mulham, north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 13, 2020. (Media Center Saudi Falcons Club Auction via Reuters)
A man displays a falcon which was sold for $173,000 during Saudi Falcons Club Auction in King Abdulaziz Festival in Mulham, north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 13, 2020. (Media Center Saudi Falcons Club Auction via Reuters)

The eye of falcon has always been an example on the sharpness of sight, for its role in helping the bird target its prey. This power confused scientists who speculated that the dark 'eyeliner' feathers of peregrine falcons act as sun shields to improve the birds' hunting ability. This hypothesis has been lately proved in a new scientific study led by researchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

The distinctive dark stripes directly beneath the peregrine falcon's eyes, called the malar stripe, likely reduce sunlight glare and confer a competitive advantage during high-speed chases. It's an evolutionary trait mimicked by some top athletes who smear dark makeup below their eyes to help them spot fast-moving balls in competitive sports.

In the new study, published in the journal Biology Letters, the scientists determined the role of this eyeliner in improving the sharpness of the falcon's eye. They found these markings have evolved according to the climate; the sunnier the bird's habitat, the larger and darker are the dark 'sun-shade' feathers.

The scientists used photos of peregrine falcons from around the world posted on the web by bird watchers and scored the size of the malar stripe for each bird. They then explored how these malar stripes varied in relation to aspects of the local climate, such as temperature, rainfall, and strength of sunlight. They examined samples from 94 different regions or countries. Results showed that peregrine falcon malar stripes were larger and darker in regions of the world where sunlight is stronger.

"The solar glare hypothesis has become ingrained in popular literature, but has never been tested empirically before. Our results suggest that the function of the malar stripe in peregrines is best explained by this solar glare hypothesis," said senior author Michelle Vrettos in a report posted on the UCT website.

Co-author Arjun Amar said: "The peregrine falcon represents the ideal species to explore this long-standing hypothesis, because it has one of the most widespread distributions of all bird species, being present on every continent except Antarctica. We are grateful to all the photographers around the world that have deposited their photos onto websites. Without their efforts this research would not have been possible."

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Dogs Prove Invaluable in Search for Los Angeles Fire Victims

San Francisco firefighter Joshua Davis from the National Search and Rescue Response System and his dog Bosco take a break in the search of rubbles of houses destroyed by the Pacific Fire along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on January 16, 2025. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP)
San Francisco firefighter Joshua Davis from the National Search and Rescue Response System and his dog Bosco take a break in the search of rubbles of houses destroyed by the Pacific Fire along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on January 16, 2025. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP)
TT
TT

Dogs Prove Invaluable in Search for Los Angeles Fire Victims

San Francisco firefighter Joshua Davis from the National Search and Rescue Response System and his dog Bosco take a break in the search of rubbles of houses destroyed by the Pacific Fire along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on January 16, 2025. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP)
San Francisco firefighter Joshua Davis from the National Search and Rescue Response System and his dog Bosco take a break in the search of rubbles of houses destroyed by the Pacific Fire along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on January 16, 2025. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP)

In the ashes of what was once a luxury home on Malibu's Pacific coast, an energetic dog runs from spot to spot, searching for victims of one of the huge wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles.

Tulla, a sandy-colored Labrador retriever, stops next to a crusted gas canister that was once perhaps part of a barbecue, and begins to bark furiously, AFP reported.

To the human eye, there is nothing there, but Tulla's powerful sense of smell says otherwise.

Moments later, handlers bring in another dog, which also homes in on the same spot, offering a strong indication that the body of one of the dozens still missing from the massive blazes may finally be found.

Marco Rodriguez, of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, says the dogs are "critical" to the search effort.

"We have thousands of homes here in this area that have burned and approximately 15 people that have been reported missing.

"We're doing our best, and the dogs are an integral part of that," he told AFP.

For thousands of firefighters doing 12- or even 24-hour shifts, the last ten days have been back-breaking; hard physical work made even more difficult for those who have seen swaths of their city burned to the ground.

But for the dogs, it is something of a game, says Joshua Davis, who has deployed with Bosco -- a black Labrador -- from his base in San Francisco.

"They're used to crawling on rubble. They enjoy it," he said.

While there's no emotional toll on the animals, there are physical dangers that require special protective boots to safeguard their paws.

"There's a lot of sharp glass and a lot of nails and debris out there that can injure the dogs," said Davis.

- 'Like every other firefighter' -

The dogs in the search and rescue unit have routines similar to the humans they work alongside, said Davis.

"Every day we go to work, he gets fed, just like every other firefighter," he said.

"He gets training on various things and we do daily exercises with him, so he knows how to run on a treadmill and he can climb ladders."

When he's not on operations, Bosco keeps his skills up with a weekly session in a dummied-up practice disaster area, where trainers hide scents for him to find.

Bosco was originally trained to be a guide dog but "failed miserably" because he had too much energy, said Davis.

But that energy makes him perfect for searching -- where the dog has learned to associate the discovery of a scent with the chance to play with his favorite toy.

In Bosco's case, that's a piece of fire hose.

"When they find the scent, they'll bark at it. I'll get to the victim and/or the source where they're barking at, and then I'll reward Bosco," said Davis.

The dogs are not infallible and there are false alarms, but on the whole they drastically reduce the amount of work that humans have to do.

"A lot of the dogs here today can cover a building that has been collapsed in five minutes or less," said Davis.

"It can take four to five firefighters 10 to 20 minutes to cover a location."

For Bosco, who has worked alongside Davis for three years searching countless properties, it's not all serious labor.

In his downtime, he has a successful Instagram feed, where followers can see what he has been up to.

This week, one of his stories showed Bosco sitting in a car, looking enthusiastically through the window with an apt caption: "Ready to work, boss!"