"Study Unveils Why Fish Fall for Optical Illusions While Birds Stay Clear"

A recent study reveals that while guppies are influenced by the Ebbinghaus illusion, birds from the Columbidae family, like ring doves, perceive it differently, shedding light on animal perception.

• The study, published on 20 October 2025, investigated how guppies and ring doves reacted to the Ebbinghaus illusion, highlighting differences in their visual perception.
• In the experiments, guppies, a species of freshwater fish, showed susceptibility to the Ebbinghaus illusion, while Columbidae birds, including seed-eating ring doves, did not fall for it.
• The findings suggest that the brains of guppies process visual information differently from those of birds, potentially impacting their behavior related to predation and foraging.