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Which animal has the best eyesight?

It depends on what "best" means. For sharp detail, the wedge-tailed eagle wins: it sees about 2.2 times sharper than you. For fast motion, the dragonfly wins. For colour types, the mantis shrimp. Pick a category and find where you rank.

A simulation made from published eye studies. Not what the animal feels.

Made by See Like Animals · Simulation from published eye studies · Updated

Sharpest eyesFastest eyesMost colour typesWidest viewSees ultraviolet

Sharpest eyes

You: 8th of 471

  1. 1stThe same tulips as a wedge-tailed eagle sees them.Wedge-tailed eagle2.2× you
  2. 2ndThe same tulips as an Egyptian vulture sees them.Egyptian vulture2.1× you
  3. 3rdIndian vulture2.1× you
  1. 4Griffon vulture1.6× you
  2. 5Brown falcon1.1× you
  3. 6Chimpanzeeabout like you
  4. 7Common buzzardabout like you
  5. Youthat is you
  6. 8Mantled howler monkeyabout like you
  7. 9Mexican howler monkeyabout like you
  8. 10Green monkeyyou win
  9. 11Vervet monkeyyou win
  10. 12White-faced sapajouyou win
  11. 13Rhesus macaqueyou win
  12. 14White-fronted capuchinyou win
  13. 15Crab-eating macaqueyou win
  14. 16Southern pig-tailed macaqueyou win
  15. 17Harris's hawkyou win
  16. 18Common kestrelyou win
  17. 19Bolivian squirrel monkeyyou win
  18. 20Rock bassyou win

Fastest eyes

You: 82nd of 223

  1. 1stDragonfly (Sympetrum flaveolum)5× you
  2. 2ndTsetse fly (Glossina pallidipes)4.7× you
  3. 3rdBlowfly (Calliphora collini)4× you
  1. 4Western honey bee3.7× you
  2. 5Tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans)3.6× you
  3. 6Common crow3.5× you
  4. 7Angled castor3.4× you
  5. 8Lemon pansy3.4× you
  6. 9Common evening brown3.3× you
  7. 10Bigclaw snapping shrimp3.3× you
  8. 11Commander3.3× you
  9. 12Bull ant (Myrmecia croslandi)3.1× you
  10. 13African monarch3.1× you
  11. 14Common eggfly3× you
  12. 15Mottled emigrant3× you
  13. 16Common mormon2.9× you
  14. 17Convolvus hawkmoth2.9× you
  15. 18Plain grey hawkmoth2.9× you
  16. 19Tawny coster2.8× you
  17. 20Bull ant (Myrmecia tarsata)2.7× you
  1. Youthat is you

Most colour types

You: 127th of 677

  1. 1stMantis shrimp13 colour types
  2. 2ndKeeled witch mantis13 colour types
  3. 3rdPastel odontodactylid mantis shrimp11 colour types
  1. 4Common banded mantis shrimp10 colour types
  2. 5Common bluebottle butterfly10 colour types
  3. 6Ciliated mantis shrimp10 colour types
  4. 7Peacock mantis shrimp10 colour types
  5. 8Monarch butterfly8 colour types
  6. 9Flap-necked chameleon7 colour types
  7. 10Hawaiian flagtail7 colour types
  8. 11Japanese rice fish7 colour types
  9. 12Nile tilapia7 colour types
  10. 13Fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster)7 colour types
  11. 14Celebes rainbowfish6 colour types
  12. 15Guppy6 colour types
  13. 16Macculloch's rainbowfish6 colour types
  14. 17Panther chameleon6 colour types
  15. 18Small white6 colour types
  16. 19Golden mbuna6 colour types
  17. 20Purple mbuna6 colour types
  1. You3 colour types

Widest view

You: 31st of 30

  1. 1stThe same tulips as a mallard sees them.Mallardall the way around
  2. 2ndAmerican woodcockall the way around
  3. 3rdEurasian woodcockall the way around
  1. 4Black grouseall the way around
  2. 5Horseabout nineteen twentieths of the way around
  3. 6Eurasian thick-kneeabout nineteen twentieths of the way around
  4. 7Bonnetheadabout nineteen twentieths of the way around
  5. 8Blacknose sharkabout nine tenths of the way around
  6. 9Scalloped hammerhead sharkabout nine tenths of the way around
  7. 10Squacco heronabout nine tenths of the way around
  8. 11Cattle egretabout nine tenths of the way around
  9. 12Black-crowned night-heronabout nine tenths of the way around
  10. 13Western reef-egretabout nine tenths of the way around
  11. 14Anhingaabout nine tenths of the way around
  12. 15Rock pigeonabout nine tenths of the way around
  13. 16Great crested grebeabout five sixths of the way around
  14. 17Lemon sharkabout five sixths of the way around
  15. 18Great cormorantabout five sixths of the way around
  16. 19Northern tree shrewabout five sixths of the way around
  17. 20Common loonabout five sixths of the way around
  1. Youthat is you

Sees ultraviolet

You can't see ultraviolet. These 125 animals can. This list is not ranked: it is A to Z.

Where do you rank?

  • Sharpest eyes: you come 8th of 471.
  • Fastest eyes: you come 82nd of 223.
  • Most colour types: you come 127th of 677.
  • Widest view: you come 31st of 30.

Which animal has the sharpest eyes?

The wedge-tailed eagle tops the list: it sees about 2.2 times sharper than you. 6 of the top 10 are birds.

Which animal sees the most colours?

Nobody can say for sure. The mantis shrimp has the most colour types: 13, where you have 3. More colour types does not always mean more colours seen: what the brain does with the signals matters too.

Do any animals see in slow motion?

Yes. The dragonfly takes in about 5 times as many snapshots each second as you, so your fast moves look slow to it.

Which animal can see behind itself?

The mallard sees all the way around without turning its head. You see about half of the way around.

Do humans have good eyesight?

For sharp detail, better than most animals: you rank 8th of 471. For speed you rank 82nd of 223.

More to play with: who can see behind them? · what colors can animals see? · pick any two animals · animals that see in slow motion

The science behind it: every value, unit and study