Comparison of vision of different animals
While reading this blog, just remember and imagine the most beautiful sight that made you smile. This is enough to tell the importance of vision and ability to see the world. The human species can see the world in its 3-D form and can very well distinguish certain colors falling in certain wavelength. The human is the only known specie which has stereopsis vision with binocular single vision of 120 degrees. Lets do the comparison of vision of different animals that help us understand how they see and perceive their surroundings.
Snakes
Snakes have infrared sensitive receptors on their snouts that help them see their prey (which is warm blooded) in low light conditions. Their lens can move backward and forward unlike human lens can change its curvature at its location. Their field of vision is 130 degrees.
Cows
Cows don’t see as many colors as human. They see it in more of red-orange color scheme. Their binocular field of vision ranges from 25 to 30 degrees. They have panoramic view and they cannot see what is directly behind them.
Horse
They do not see as many colors as us and they mostly see the world in colors of greys, yellows and blues. They have blind spot in front f their faces due to their eye location. They have good night vision than human because they have more rods in their retina. Their eyes are present on the sides of their head and due to this they have a wide range of vision ranging from 300 to 350 degrees. However their depth perception is less than human. Their binocular vision is 65 degrees.
Fish
They eyes of fish have ultra-violet receptors and they have more spherical lens then we have. Deep see fish can clearly see in the dark. The sharks can see much clear under the water but cannot distinguish colors.
Birds
Birds can also see ultraviolet rays. The birds of prey e.g. eagles can see up to a distance of more than 1 kilometer. A falcon can see their prey while flying above the fields. Pigeons also have magnifying vision and they can see the tiny details of the road etc. the field of vision of pigeon is 340 degrees. The sparrows see the world in more of red color shades. However they possess poor night vision.
Flies
They see the world in slow motion. They can see ultra violet light. Their visual receptors create a broad field of vision.
Bees
They cannot distinguish red color at all. Bees see way beyond what our eyes see. Some special pigments in flowers can absorb UV light and they see different pattern of colors in the center of flower guiding them about the nectar that ultimately helps in natural process of pollination. One cannot deny the relationship that flowers and bees have!
Rats
They see the world in blues and greens. Their field of vision is 200 degrees. They have 2 images of the world for their eyes move independently of each other.
Cats
Their field of view is better than ours. Their world is made up of brown, yellow and blue shades. Their field of vision is 200 degrees and they can see six times better than human being in the dark.
Dogs
Dogs They can see the world in color shades of blue, violet and grey. They can see ultra violet light as well. the eyes of dogs shine in the dark because they have an additional layer in their eyes which is known as tapetum lucid. Their visual field is almost 270 degrees and binocular field lies between 30 to 60 degrees.
Founder of EyesMatterMost- an optometry student who loves talking about eyes. I tend to cover topics related to optometry, ophthalmology, eye health, eyecare, eye cosmetics and everything in between. This website is a medium to educate my readers everything related to eyes.
