Who can see behind them?
Eyes on the sides of the head see almost all the way around; eyes in front, like yours, see a smaller slice but judge depth well. The American woodcock sees all the way around. Drag the dot and try to sneak up on an animal.
A simulation made from published eye studies. Not what the animal feels.
Made by See Like Animals · Simulation from published eye studies · Updated 2026-10-02
Every animal with a measured view
Top-down view: what an American woodcock sees around it. An American woodcock sees all the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. American woodcock : all the way aroundTop-down view: what a mallard sees around it. A mallard sees all the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Mallard : all the way aroundTop-down view: what an Eurasian woodcock sees around it. An Eurasian woodcock sees all the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Eurasian woodcock : all the way aroundTop-down view: what a black grouse sees around it. A black grouse sees all the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Black grouse : all the way aroundTop-down view: what a horse sees around it. A horse sees about nineteen twentieths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Horse : about nineteen twentieths of the way aroundTop-down view: what an Eurasian thick-knee sees around it. An Eurasian thick-knee sees about nineteen twentieths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Eurasian thick-knee : about nineteen twentieths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a bonnethead sees around it. A bonnethead sees about nineteen twentieths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Bonnethead : about nineteen twentieths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a blacknose shark sees around it. A blacknose shark sees about nine tenths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Blacknose shark : about nine tenths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a scalloped hammerhead shark sees around it. A scalloped hammerhead shark sees about nine tenths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Scalloped hammerhead shark : about nine tenths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a squacco heron sees around it. A squacco heron sees about nine tenths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Squacco heron : about nine tenths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a cattle egret sees around it. A cattle egret sees about nine tenths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Cattle egret : about nine tenths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a black-crowned night-heron sees around it. A black-crowned night-heron sees about nine tenths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Black-crowned night-heron : about nine tenths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a western reef-egret sees around it. A western reef-egret sees about nine tenths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Western reef-egret : about nine tenths of the way aroundTop-down view: what an anhinga sees around it. An anhinga sees about nine tenths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Anhinga : about nine tenths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a rock pigeon sees around it. A rock pigeon sees about nine tenths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Rock pigeon : about nine tenths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a great crested grebe sees around it. A great crested grebe sees about five sixths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Great crested grebe : about five sixths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a great cormorant sees around it. A great cormorant sees about five sixths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Great cormorant : about five sixths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a lemon shark sees around it. A lemon shark sees about five sixths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Lemon shark : about five sixths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a northern tree shrew sees around it. A northern tree shrew sees about five sixths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Northern tree shrew : about five sixths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a common loon sees around it. A common loon sees about five sixths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Common loon : about five sixths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a goosander sees around it. A goosander sees about five sixths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Goosander : about five sixths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a brown rat sees around it. A brown rat sees about five sixths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Brown rat : about five sixths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a common ostrich sees around it. A common ostrich sees about five sixths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Common ostrich : about five sixths of the way aroundTop-down view: what a manx shearwater sees around it. A manx shearwater sees about three quarters of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Manx shearwater : about three quarters of the way aroundTop-down view: what a Humboldt penguin sees around it. A Humboldt penguin sees about three quarters of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Humboldt penguin : about three quarters of the way aroundTop-down view: what a black-browed albatross sees around it. A black-browed albatross sees about three quarters of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Black-browed albatross : about three quarters of the way aroundTop-down view: what a ferret sees around it. A ferret sees about three quarters of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Ferret : about three quarters of the way aroundTop-down view: what a grey-headed albatross sees around it. A grey-headed albatross sees about three quarters of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Grey-headed albatross : about three quarters of the way aroundTop-down view: what a dog sees around it. A dog sees about two thirds of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Dog : about two thirds of the way aroundTop-down view: what a tawny owl sees around it. A tawny owl sees about half of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. Tawny owl : about half of the way around
Where can't a horse see you? Right behind it. A horse sees about nineteen twentieths of the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around. That is why you never walk straight up behind a horse.
Which animal can see all the way around? The American woodcock sees all the way around without turning its head. 21 animals here see almost all the way around.
How far around can you see? You see about half of the way around without turning your head. Your eyes face forward, so a wide zone is seen by both eyes: that is what makes depth easy for you.
More to play with: which animal has the best eyesight? · what colors can animals see? · who sees best in the dark? · fossil eyes through time
The science behind it: the angles and studies