> Then they feed by hovering so accurately that they can reliably thread a 1/8" beak into a moving 1/4" target. They can do this directly into 20 mph headwinds

> Then they feed by hovering so accurately that they can reliably thread a 1/8" beak into a moving 1/4" target. They can do this directly into 20 mph headwinds [0]. Also in rainstorms where they are constantly getting pelted with their bodyweight in wet missiles every few seconds. What I find amazing is that chickens appear to possess a sort of natural optical stabilizer - which will keep their heads still even when the rest of their body is moved. [1] If this is a regular feature of bird anatomy, it would explain how a lot of their precision during flight is archived. At least this made it click for me how an eagle is likely able to keep track of some tiny rodent hundreds of meters below it while hovering in mid-air and bracing against wind, turbulences, etc. I suspect we have the same mechanism, but only applied to the eyeballs, not the whole head. [1] https://youtu.be/Rgy-CbrUNkw https://youtu.be/Rgy-CbrUNkw