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Published August 15, 2016 | Published + Supplemental Material
Journal Article Open

Optic flow stabilizes flight in ruby-throated hummingbirds

Abstract

Flying birds rely on visual cues for retinal image stabilization by negating rotation-induced optic flow, the motion of the visual panorama across the retina, through corrective eye and head movements. In combination with vestibular and proprioceptive feedback, birds may also use visual cues to stabilize their body during flight. Here, we test whether artificially induced wide-field motion generated through projected visual patterns elicits maneuvers in body orientation and flight position, in addition to stabilizing vision. To test this hypothesis, we present hummingbirds flying freely within a 1.2 m cylindrical visual arena with a virtual surround rotated at different speeds about its vertical axis. The birds responded robustly to these visual perturbations by rotating their heads and bodies with the moving visual surround, and by adjusting their flight trajectories, following the surround. Thus, similar to insects, hummingbirds appear to use optic flow cues to control flight maneuvers as well as to stabilize their visual inputs.

Additional Information

© 2016 The Company of Biologists Ltd. Received July 19, 2015. Accepted May 26, 2016. We thank P. A. Ramirez for care of the animals, and are grateful to Y. Hong, A. N. Ahn, A. M. Mountcastle, C. D. Williams and S. Ravi for helpful contributions. Author contributions: I.G.R. and A.A.B. conceived, designed and executed the research. I.G.R. and A.A.B. interpreted the findings. I.G.R analyzed the data. I.G.R. drafted the article. I.G.R. and A.A.B. revised the article. This study was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation (IOS-0744056) and the Office of Naval Research (N0014-10-1-0951) to A.A.B. The authors declare no competing or financial interests.

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Published - 2443.full.pdf

Supplemental Material - JEB128488supp.pdf

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August 20, 2023
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