Do birds listen or watch for worms

[MarzipanQ]

Do birds, especially blackbirds, listen or watch for worms when patrolling my lawn? They tilt their heads so I say they're listening but hubby disagrees. Not coming to blows over it - just curious as to who is right or if we're both wrong lol

[Clanad]

They are watching for the worms, especially after a rai when they're near the surface. Birds eyes are set on the sides of their heads, so while they are able to see in lots of directions, such as to their rear to see predators, their binocular vision isn't terribly good, certianly not on par with humans. They can focus on a worm just peeking its head out of a hole much better with just one eye...

[wildwood]

Despite birds having no visible ears, they have audile orifices covered with a thin layer of feathers to maintain aerodynamic streamlining for flying. Their hearing is many times better than humans. They are unique among animals in that both ears are internally ducted to one organ that is asymmetrically positioned between the two ears. The slight difference enables them to accurately determine which direction the sound is coming from and thus causes them to often tilt their head to get a better fix on the source.
If you watch your blackbird a bit longer you'll notice that after tilting their head they will often rush for a short distance in a totally different direction, then momentarily pause to ensure they are on the right spot and then carefully plunge the beak in the lawn and pull up a juicy worm. The worm is often not even seen until it is pulled up out of the ground, it is detected in the ground with minute vibration felt through the beak.

[MarzipanQ]

Thank you both very much for the answers:) I'm now on tea making duty for a week lol

[wildwood]

It is your hubby who should be doing on tea-making duties. You were the one that was right!

[LoftyLottie]

From the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/youth/discover/birds/bi rd_food/blackbirds.asp?view=print

They definitely listen (and watch) I don't know if other birds do this, but I have only seen blackbirds listening with their heads tilted to one side.