Billy Mitchell, age 10, of Philadelphia, PA

How does a bird hear?

Everyone who has a parkeet usually wonders how the little darling can hear. He certainly must hear. For he cocks his head when you talk to him. His bright eyes seem to understand everything you say to him. And, if he is a budgies maybe he even talks right back to you, He has a chesty voice and he can copy your words and the way in which you say them.

But, he seems to have no ears so how does he hear? Actually he does have ears, and very sharp ones, You just cannot see them, He doesn’t have two pink shells like your ears nor does he have furry ears like a cat. Maybe you thought you did all your hearing with those two shell‑like ears on the side of your head.  Not at all, the outside ears just help a little, The real hearing job is done by the ear parts inside your head,

Bath outer ear has‑its ‑inner ears The inner ear is a wonderful and complex body organ.    It is a sort of small roller coaster of tiny tubes, The little tubes are partly filled with fluid.  A great nerve runs from the brain to this part of the ear. Its ends spread into countless fibers.  The fibers like little hairs, dip into the ear fluid.

Sounds are carried from the outer ear through a canal, The sounds make vibrations which disturb the liquid in the inner ear.   The nerve fibers catch these vibrations, they relay them to the brain.  The brain sorts them out without even bothering you.  It has the answer, knows what they mean in a split second. That sound is a train whistle, Another is Joe going down the street on his roller skates, That is Mother saying, "soup's on"!

You might lose the outer part of your ear and the inner ear could still do its work. That is why Bill’s parakeet Oscar needs no outer ears, He has small openings in his skin which carry the sound to his inner ears, You ou poke around to find his ear openings you might hurt him can’t see them because they are covered with neat feathers. Take Andy's word for this. Most birds  Most  birds have very good hearing, Did you ever try to sneak up on a robin? True, his eyes are placed on each side of his head where he can see a great deal and in several directions, But his ears, his inner ears reported your footsteps,

A woodcock they say can even hear a worm crawling along under the ground, An owl cannot see in total darkness, But he can hear well enough to catch a scampering mouse in that same total darkness.