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How does the zebra finch see?

The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) is a bird in the order Passeriformes. Its eyes belong to the vision type UV songbird, parrot and hummingbird.

Measured in this species: colour, night vision and motion (flicker fusion). Measured core: measured values on at least 3 of the 6 dials. Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.

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What stands out

The six dials

Evidence levels: how the tiers work. "Measured" means a value measured in this species; "Estimated" values come from a close relative or an eye-size formula.

Vision values for the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSources
ColourColour receptors
4 receptor classes: 370 nm (UVS), 430 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 503 nm (MWS (green)), 567 nm (LWS (long))
measured in this species
Measured[1]
Ultraviolet
yes: at least one receptor peaks in the ultraviolet		Measured
SharpnessAcuity
6.364 cycles per degree
allometry (Aves): log10(acuity_cpd) = intercept + slope * log10(eye_axial_length_mm); slope 0.9017, intercept 0.1397, R2 0.453, n 99 (fitted in this script; fitted range [4.36, 39.81] mm); eye_axial_length_mm 5.45 mm
Estimated[2][3]
Field of viewBinocular overlap
35°
median of 26 relatives in order Passeriformes: Baeolophus bicolor, Corvus albus, Corvus brachyrhynchos, Corvus corax, Corvus corone, Corvus frugilegus
Group default[4][5]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
1
median of 29 relatives in order Passeriformes: Cardinalis cardinalis, Passerina cyanea, Cyanocitta cristata, Junco hyemalis, Melospiza melodia, Melozone crissalis
Group default[6][7]
Fovea type
single central fovea (displaced dorso-temporally from retinal centre)		Group default[6][7]
Night visionActivity pattern
diurnal
mode of 6 rows (of 6 rows): diurnal; not_nocturnal; photopic
Measured (not re-verified)[8][9][10][1][11][12]
Rods vs cones
cone-dominated
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[8][9][10][1][11][12]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
55 Hz
median of 1 bright-light rows (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [55.0])
Measured[13]

Other senses

Related animals

More birds: all birds with measured vision data.

Sources

  1. Longcore T. 2023. A compendium of photopigment peak sensitivities and visual spectral response curves of terrestrial wildlife to guide design of outdoor nighttime lighting. Basic Appl Ecol 73:40-50. doi:10.1016/j.baae.2023.09.002. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8432720
  2. Ausprey I.J. & Ritland S. 2024. Eye morphology contributes to the ecology and evolution of the avian tree of life [Dataset]. Dryad. Digitised Table 7 of Ritland S. 1982, The allometry of the vertebrate eye, PhD dissertation, University of Chicago. Paper: Ausprey 2024 J Anim Ecol doi:10.1111/1365-2656.14141. doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3xsj3txq7
  3. Olsson P, Lind O, Mitkus M, Delhey K, Kelber A. 2021. Lens and cornea limit UV vision of birds - a phylogenetic perspective. J Exp Biol 224:jeb243129. doi.org/10.1242/jeb.243129
  4. Tyrrell LP, Moore BA, Loftis C, Fernandez-Juricic E 2017 (data 2017). The hawk-eyed songbird: retinal morphology, eye shape, and visual fields of an aerial insectivore. Am Nat 189(6). Dryad doi:10.5061/dryad.n7140.. doi.org/10.1086/691404
  5. Tyrrell LP, Fernandez-Juricic E 2017. Avian binocular vision: it's not just about what birds can see, it's also about what they can't. PLoS ONE 12(3): e0173235. S1 Table.. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0173235
  6. Moore BA, Tyrrell LP, Pita D, Bininda-Emonds ORP, Fernandez-Juricic E 2017. Does retinal configuration make the head and eyes of foveate birds move? Sci Rep 7: 38406. Appendix 1.. doi.org/10.1038/srep38406
  7. Rodrigues T, Matter MM, Chiodini A, et al. 2026. Foveal vision in fast-flying birds hunting on the wing. bioRxiv 2026.06.05.730304. doi.org/10.64898/2026.06.05.730304
  8. Anderson SR, Wiens JJ. 2017. Out of the dark: 350 million years of conservatism and evolution in diel activity patterns in vertebrates. Evolution 71:1944-1959. Dryad doi:10.5061/dryad.fg700. doi.org/10.5061/dryad.fg700
  9. Light conditions and the evolution of the visual system in birds (figshare dataset, SupplementaryDataset1). doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22116371.v3
  10. Wilman H, Belmaker J, Simpson J, de la Rosa C, Rivadeneira MM, Jetz W. 2014. EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027. BirdFuncDat.txt. doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
  11. Schmitz L, Motani R. 2011. Science 332:705-708, SOM. doi.org/10.1126/science.1200043
  12. Moura et al. 2024. A phylogeny-informed characterisation of global tetrapod traits addresses data gaps and biases. PLoS Biol 22:e3002658. TetrapodTraits v3.0.1.. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22536349
  13. Lafitte A, Sordello R, Legrand M, Nicolas V, Obein G, Reyjol Y. 2022. A flashing light may not be that flashy: A systematic review on critical fusion frequencies. PLoS ONE 17(12): e0279718. S10 File (CFF database). doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279718
  14. Healy K, McNally L, Ruxton GD, Cooper N, Jackson AL. 2013. Metabolic rate and body size are linked with perception of temporal information. Animal Behaviour 86:685-696. Table 1. doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.06.018
  15. Inger R, Bennie J, Davies TW, Gaston KJ. 2014. Potential biological and ecological effects of flickering artificial light. PLoS ONE 9(5): e98631. Table 3. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098631

Every value cites its sources (all sources). Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this?