From Newsgroup: talk.origins
https://www.science.org/content/article/love-practically-makes-these-birds-go-blind
More science over hype. I used to raise golden pheasants, and their
mating display is impressive, but it has evolved to not impede their
vision. These researchers are noting that they have decreased visible
angle upwards due to their crest, but this likely isn't a problem for
golden pheasants. They live in mountain forests, and have evolved their bright display to stand out in dense cover. You can see by the pictures
that when they are most vulnerable during display that one eye is not
involved in the display plumage and the other eye remains completely unobstructed. My guess is that the unobstructed eye is part of
attraction that females are looking for in a good mate. You can see
that the tiger strips sweep up to attract attention to the eye. Any
female that is mating with a male is more vulnerable to attack, and
would want to mate with a male under safe conditions. In dense forest
cover they are less likely to be prey to aerial attacks.
The authors note that when the birds are pecking at the ground that they
would have reduced forward vision, but these guys have obviously never
watched these birds forage with their constant head motions in all
directions. It helps them find food and watch out for predators.
https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/1090760/view/golden-pheasant-displaying-to-female-pheasant
Ron Okimoto
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