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Blue tit vision: the science and the numbers

Cyanistes caeruleus · order Passeriformes · Birds: all the numbers

The blue tit has four colour channels, including ultraviolet (371.5, 448, 503 and 563 nm).[1][2] The blue tit stops seeing flicker at 91 Hz, against 60 Hz for people.[28]

See it on your photoBack to How does the blue tit see?
  • 4colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 91hertz flicker fusion (motion)Measured*

The blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) is a bird in the order Passeriformes. Its eyes belong to the vision type UV songbird, parrot and hummingbird: four cone types including a true ultraviolet cone, coloured oil droplets and fast motion vision. Measured in this species: colour, night vision and motion (flicker fusion). Measured core: measured values on at least 3 of the 6 dials.

This is a simulation built from published eye measurements, not what the animal experiences.

Method: How we know what animals see (the See Like Animals vision engine) · Sources · Last updated . Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.

What the blue tit sees: colour receptors

Blue tit colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmBlue tit: 4 receptor peaks at 371.5, 448, 503, 563 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Blue tit: 371.5, 448, 503, 563 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What stands out

  • It has 4 colour receptor classes, including ultraviolet; people have 3.
  • It stops seeing flicker at 91 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks about 1.5 times slower to it.[29][30]
  • Activity pattern: diurnal.

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. The last column gives the values for people from the same catalogue.

Vision values for the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
4 receptor classes: 371.5 nm (UVS), 448 nm (SWS (blue)), 503 nm (MWS (green)), 563 nm (LWS (long))
measured in this species
Measured[1][2]Colour receptors: 3 receptor classes: 421.5 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 532 nm (MWS (green)), 558.4 nm (LWS (long)) Measured (not re-verified)[2][3][4][5]
Ultraviolet
yes: at least one receptor peaks in the ultraviolet		Measured
SharpnessAcuity
5.77 cycles per degree
median of 2 relatives in family Paridae: Baeolophus bicolor, Poecile carolinensis
Estimated[6]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[7][8]
Field of viewBinocular overlap
52°
median of 2 relatives in family Paridae: Baeolophus bicolor, Poecile carolinensis
Estimated[9]Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[10][11]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[12]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[12]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[10][11]
Total field of view
311°
median total field (measured, or 360 - blind area) of relatives in family Paridae: Poecile carolinensis, Baeolophus bicolor
Estimated[13]
Blind area behind the head
49°		Estimated[13]
Eye placement
lateral		Estimated[9]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
1
median of 2 relatives in family Paridae: Baeolophus bicolor, Poecile atricapillus
Estimated[14]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[15]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[15]
Fovea type
single central fovea (displaced dorso-temporally from retinal centre)		Estimated[14]
Night visionActivity pattern
diurnal
mode of 4 rows (of 4 rows): diurnal; not_nocturnal
Measured (not re-verified)[16][17][2][18]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[19][20][21][2][22][23][24][18]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[25][26]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[27]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[19][20][21][2][22][23][24][18]
Rods vs cones
cone-dominated
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[16][17][2][18]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
91 Hz
median of 2 bright-light rows (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [75.3, 106.8])
Measured (not re-verified)[28]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[29][30]

Other senses

  • magnetoreception: NOT RENDERED (no agreed visual percept) (Group default)

All birds side by side: Birds: every measurement. Method: how we know what animals see.

Sources

  1. Lind et al. 2014
  2. Longcore 2023
  3. Kirwan
  4. Müller et al. 2009
  5. Thermal Activation and Photoactivation of Visual… 2004
  6. Caves et al. 2018
  7. Kirk et al. 2004
  8. Veilleux et al. 2014
  9. Tyrrell et al. 2017
  10. Heesy 2004
  11. Heffner et al. 1992
  12. Campbell & Green 1965
  13. Tyrrell et al. 2017
  14. Moore et al. 2017
  15. Kopania et al. 2025
  16. Light conditions and the evolution of…
  17. Wilman et al. 2014
  18. Moura et al. 2024
  19. Anderson et al. 2017
  20. Borges et al. 2018
  21. Wilman et al. 2014
  22. Maor et al. 2017
  23. Jones et al. 2009
  24. Schmitz et al. 2011
  25. Banks et al. 2015
  26. Cervino et al. 2021
  27. Guareschi et al. 2025
  28. Boström et al. 2016
  29. Healy et al. 2013
  30. Inger et al. 2014

Every value cites its sources (all sources). Values were extracted from these works and converted (units, medians, derived values); changes are ours, and the listed sources do not endorse this site. Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this? Method: how we know.