Tom Sanfilippo, age 10, of Burlington, Vt., for his question:

CAN BIRDS HEAR?

Birds have the same senses that we humans do. Their sight and hearing are highly sensitive. They are quickly aware of the slightest movement around them.

Birds do not have outer ears, as do men and some other mammals. But they do have eardrums, middle ears and inner ears.  Birds can distinguish colors but their sense of smell and taste are not well developed.

As birds fly, they can focus their eyes quickly by means of muscles that change the shape of the lenses of their eyes. The eyes of most birds are on the sides of their heads. Only owls and a few other birds can look straight ahead as people do. Some birds need only one hundredth as much light as humans need to see. Owls, for example, use remarkable sensitive hearing and vision to catch mice in darkness.