Scientists Mount Miniature Video Cameras on Falcons to Record Them Catching Prey
Posted on January 20, 2014
Scientists mounted miniature video cameras on falcons to record them catching prey. Suzanne Amador Kane, an associate professor of physics at Haverford College, worked with falconers around the world to record the amazing footage. The researchers discovered falcons pursue prey by keeping the image of the prey in the same place on their retina during the pursuit as they close in. The researchers compared each frame of the video to computer simulations to come up with the conclusion. The researchers also say falcons employ a strategy called "motion camouflage" as they pursue prey. The footage below was filmed by Eddy De Mol and his colleagues Valerie Collet and Francois Lorrain. Take a look:
In a Haverford College news item about the research, Kane says, "I was taken aback by all of this interest. But falcons are magnificent, charismatic animals and the falcon's eye videos of their hunts are very exciting. I can still say that, even though I have spent hours studying them frame by frame using image analysis software. This is truly nature red in tooth and claw. There is something really primal and moving about watching that elemental struggle between predator and prey."
The research paper was published herein the The Journal of Experimental Biology.
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