>but my understanding is that reality is much more complicated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjPi3GBQW_U
What Your Birds Actually See When They Look at You — And Why It Should Unsettle You
The bird at your feeder right now is looking at you. But what it sees when it looks back is nothing like what you see when you look at it — and once you understand what's actually happening behind that sideways glance, you'll never watch a bird the same way again.
In this video, we go deep into the science of avian vision and what it reveals about the relationship between you and the birds in your yard. Birds see four colors where you see three — including an entire ultraviolet spectrum completely invisible to you. They process visual information at nearly twice your frame rate, meaning your movements appear in slow motion to them. They recognize your individual face and remember it across seasons. They choose which eye to watch you with based on how much they trust you. And on certain nights, the birds passing over your house see the Earth's magnetic field as a glowing visual overlay — a navigation system built directly into their sight. Everything you thought you knew about watching birds needs to be reconsidered. Because they've been watching you far more carefully than you ever realized.
I love when a plan comes together…