Sharp Vision: 12 Animals With The Best Eyesight

Best Panoramic Vision

With large eyes that are set high and far back on its head, the American woodcock has a panoramic vision both above and behind. Simply put, these little birds are able to look for prey while watching out for predators at the same time. Because they spend most of their time using their long bills poking into the soil searching for earthworms, they have to be watchful. Thanks to their eyes, they can see their surrounding simultaneously which is awesome. As a matter of fact, their eyes’ location allows them to see 180 degrees vertically and 350 degrees horizontally. Also, this is the largest visual field known for a bird at the current time.

Best Panoramic Binocular Vision

When it comes to vision, you cannot leave chameleons out of the list. Besides their ability to camouflage, their magnificent eyes are also one of their special traits. A chameleon can rotate their eyes to see the view from the front, the side, and behind. Without the need to move their heads, they can also move each eye independently to see their surroundings. More than that, chameleons are able to switch from monocular vision to binocular vision which is rare for land animals.

With up to 360 degrees of vision, chameleons are among the most famous animals with the best eyesight. The fascinating thing is that their eyeballs are simply mounted in twin conical turrets. There is no deep orbital socket to keep their eyes from falling out at all. Instead, they have thick muscular eyelids that cover the eyeballs which also means they don’t blink. Despite their incredible vision, chameleons are virtually blind in the dark due to the lack of rods. But in the daytime, they can see up to half a mile away which is super cool.

Best Vision On The Run

Big cats like jaguars, leopards, lions, and tigers all have incredible night vision, but cheetahs are the winners. As the fastest land animals in the world, their eyesight is also second to none of the big cats. Their sharp vision cooperates in perfect unison with their speed as they hunt their prey. Cheetahs can spot prey from 5 kilometers away, and they are able to lock their eyes on the meal during the chase.

Cheetahs are also among the animals with the best eyesight during the day. With the help of the black tear lines known as Malar Stripes, the glaring sun cannot obstruct their view at all. The malar stripes simply attract the sun away from the eyes while absorbing sun rays at the same time. Plus with the high density of photoreceptor cells in their retinas, cheetahs have the best vision in the feline family.

Fun Fact: Despite their extraordinary daytime vision, cheetahs have poor night vision so they don’t hunt at night.

Best Multichromatic Vision

All dragonflies have large and prominent faceted eyes with amazing vision. The facets in their compound eyes are called ommatidia, and there are thousands of them in each eye. The ommatidia have unique photoreceptor proteins known as opsin that detect light wavelength. This helps dragonflies to detect objects with ease while seeing more colors than humans. Plus with their large field of vision and flying speed, dragonflies are efficient predators for their size.

As one of the animals with the best eyesight and vision, dragonflies can see more colors and details. And with the combination of their binocular vision, they are able to detect their prey even from the distance. Despite their size, dragonflies are ferocious hunters. They can see life in the treetops even with branches or mosses, hence their precise and successful hunting.

Best Long Distance Vision

Remember the phrase “Eagle Eye”? That is how incredible the vision that this raptor possesses is. In fact, their eyesight is several better and sharper than that of the average human. As the hunters from above, eagles can track the movement of their prey right from the sky. On top of that, they have the ability to stoop from the top and hunt within seconds. Eagles are special, and there are many reasons behind their acute vision.

The eyes of the eagles fill most of their skulls, and they can use them in both binocular and monocular vision. Simply put, they can switch from seeing with one eye to seeing with both easily. More than that, each of their eyes has two focal points. That means they can look in two different simultaneously which helps them with hunting. Not to mention that eagle can keep their head immovable as they concentrate on their prey, they never fail hunting.

Best Above & Underwater Vision

Here you are looking at a river dweller with large and bulging eyes. The fish has two eyes with divided pupils that appear as if they have four eyes. With duplicated cornea and pupils along with different photoreceptors in the lower and upper parts, their vision is also incredibly unique. Their upper eye can see above water while their lower eyes bring them underwater vision. These visions allow them to see both situations simultaneously as they swim. Since they spend most of their time at the surface of the water, this vision is very helpful. Not to mention that they can survive out of the water, especially during low tide, their life is quite fascinating.

Best Night & Panoramic Vision

The best vision is not only common in birds but also in domestic animals like goats. Goats have both night vision and panoramic vision, making them one of the amazing animals with the best eyesight. Because they sometimes graze at night, night vision is an important asset to have. Plus with the fact that they are prey animals, night vision allows them to spot predators in the wild at night.

While most animals have round or vertical pupils, goats have horizontal pupils with rectangular shapes instead. This simply enables them to see a wide range of their surroundings up to 330 degrees visually. That means they can do virtually everything without turning their heads except their own backs. Along with that, their vision also helps them to avoid crashing into things or going in the wrong direction when they run.

Best Color Vision

Not different from eagles, hawks also possess double focal points which allow them to see twice better as human eyes do. This helps them to be able to detect their prey from a great distance while seeing colors at the same time. The unique thing about hawks is that they have smaller eyes compared to most raptors out there. However, their vision is just as good or even better because they can see colors. On top of that, hawks can also distinguish two different objects with different colors. Such skill helps to differentiate between the prey and the background which leads to a precise attack every time. Plus with their fast speed, swooping a meal on the ground is a piece of cake.

Best Color Vision

Neither a mantis nor a shrimp, this weird crustacean has incredibly huge eyes. By the look, you can already tell that they also have superior vision. Mantis shrimps are probably the animals with the most complex eyesight in the world. There are 3 regions in their eyes including the lower and upper hemispheres along with a dark band in the middle. That mid-band can have between 12 to 16 photoreceptors in total which results in extraordinary vision.

There are multiple channels of color vision that they have, and they can also detect polarized and UV light. This is equivalent to putting on 3D glasses on a daily basis which is very interesting. Along with that, their unique eyes setup enables them to move each eye independently just like a chameleon. With everything together, a mantis shrimp can avoid predators, find mates, and look for prey easily.

Best Polarized Vision Without Blind Spots

It is true that octopuses and other cephalopods are color-blind so they only see black and white. The compensation for that is the fact that they can detect color and mimic the backgrounds and some other animals. At the same time, the shape of their iris and pupil along with the structure of the photoreceptors enable them to see polarized light. This allows them to blend into the backgrounds or look like other animals to avoid or scare off predators.

Another incredible thing is that the vertebrates have no blind spots so they can see everything around them. More than that, they can move their eyes independently to process completely different images at the same time. Not to mention that their pupils are mobile, they can large and become reduced to slits. The eyes of the octopuses and their visions are also quite interesting in the animal kingdom.

Best Night Vision

As the hunters of the night, these nocturnal birds are indeed among the animals with the best eyesight. Owls are special because of their super large eyes that face directly forward, giving them amazing binocular vision. The unique thing about owls is that they cannot move or roll their eyes as human eyes can. This is the reason why turning their head up to 270 degrees without moving their bodies help them to see things.

Another interesting thing about their sharp vision is that they are farsighted. Owls can spot prey up to 500 meters away but they cannot focus on objects that are too close. This is why sometimes they rely on their incredible hearing skill to detect prey nearby. That is not all, owls have large and tube-shaped eyes that contain so many rods, more than human eyes do. These rods allow them to be more sensitive to light which means their eyesight is also great during the day.

Best Eye Vision & Sensory Detection

With the combination of sharp eyesight and hearing skills, robins can detect and find their food easily every time. Their method is by hopping along the ground as they hear and see the movement of their meals beneath the ground. The specials on their menu are usually beetles and worms of all types that they can catch. Thanks to their senses, locating and seeking food is very easy for them.

Their keen eyes can spot even the tiny end of the worm that pokes out of the soil. On top of that, robins can also detect slight movement or changes in the grass and soil as the worms move. Even if they are below the surface, they cannot hide from the sharp vision of a robin. More than that, these birds have a monocular vision that allows them to operate their eyes independently. This simply makes hunting faster and more convenient for these songbirds.

Apart from the sight, robins can also hear the faint noise of the soil movement as the prey moves. Such acute hearing allows them to pinpoint the location and strike without fail. Plus with the sensitivity to detect even subtle movements, hunting prey below the soil is not a problem for them. With all their strong senses combined, it is without a doubt why robins are among the animals with the best eyesight.

Related Post: Animals With Unique Eyes