一项在《壹号科学公共图书馆》杂志上的发表的研究表明，鸡比人多了一种视网膜锥(体)，使得它们能够分辨一些人类看不到的颜色。卡伦·霍普金报告。
Bring home a bucket of fried chicken and you may find that people have strong feelings about which part of the bird is best. Well, scientists at Washington University in St. Louis [led by Joseph Corbo] say the answer is: the eyes. At least when you compare them to our own ocular implements. Because chickens can see more colors than we do, findings that appear in the journal Public Library of Science ONE.
带回家一桶炸鸡，你会发现人们 非常想知道 什么部位的鸡肉最好吃。圣路易斯华盛顿大学里由约瑟夫·科尔沃领导的科学家们认为，答案是：鸡眼睛。 至少，当你把自己眼睛能看到的东西和它的对比的时候，鸡的眼睛价值更高。因为，《壹号科学公共图书馆》里的发现表明：鸡能识别更多的颜色。

The ability to see colors comes from specialized light-sensing cells found in the retina. These cells, called cones, come in different flavors, each of which can detect different wavelengths of light. Humans have three kinds of cones that allow us to see red, green and blue. But birds have an extra cone for seeing violet and ultraviolet light. What’s more, these chicken cones are distributed evenly throughout the retina, enhancing the birds’ ability to see colors all around their visual field.
视网膜中有一种特殊的感光细胞具有识别颜色的能力。这些细胞，我们称之为锥体。他们种类很多，每一种都可以探测不同波长的光。人类有三种锥体，使我们能够识别红色、绿色和蓝色。但是鸟类多了一种锥体，能识别紫色光和紫外线。此外，这种鸡的锥体均匀的分布在整个视网膜内，加强了他们整个视觉系统辨别颜色的功能。
Woodpeckers, sparrows and pigeons have a similar setup in the retina department, which presumably gives them an advantage when it comes to finding mates or spotting brightly colored berries. It may also explain why the chicken crossed the road. If you could see what he does, maybe you’d head over there, too.
啄木鸟，麻雀和鸽子的视网膜的结构大体类似，这大概为它们寻找配偶、发现鲜艳的浆果提供了方便。这也可能解释为什么小鸡会横穿过马路。（鸡有横穿马路的天性。）如果你能看见他所看到的美妙事物，兴许你也会不顾一切朝对面跑去。