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Budgerigar vision: the science and the numbers

Melopsittacus undulatus · order Psittaciformes · Birds: all the numbers

Budgies have four colour channels, including ultraviolet (371, 440, 499 and 566 nm).[1][2] Their sharpest vision resolves 14.3 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[6] Budgies stop seeing flicker at 74.7 Hz, against 60 Hz for people.[38][39]

See it on your photoBack to How do budgies see?
  • 4colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 14.3cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured
  • 74.7hertz flicker fusion (motion)Measured

The budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) is a bird in the order Psittaciformes. 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, sharpness, 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 budgies see: colour receptors

Budgerigar colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmBudgerigar: 4 receptor peaks at 371, 440, 499, 566 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Budgerigar: 371, 440, 499, 566 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What stands out

  • It has 4 colour receptor classes, including ultraviolet; people have 3.
  • Its sharpest vision resolves 14.3 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
  • It stops seeing flicker at 74.7 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks about 1.2 times slower to it.[38][40]
  • 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 budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
4 receptor classes: 371 nm (UVS), 440 nm (SWS (blue)), 499 nm (MWS (green)), 566 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
14.3 cycles per degree
median of 1 behavioural rows (method priority rule)
Measured[6]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[7][8]
Field of viewBinocular overlap
27.5°
median of 133 relatives in class Aves: Accipiter cooperii, Spatula clypeata, Mareca penelope, Anas platyrhynchos, Ardeola ralloides, Baeolophus bicolor
Group default[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[18][19]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[20]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[20]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[18][19]
Eye placement
lateral		Group default[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
1
median of 48 relatives in class Aves: Branta canadensis, Cardinalis cardinalis, Passerina cyanea, Zenaida macroura, Cyanocitta cristata, Junco hyemalis
Group default[21][22][23]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[24]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[24]
Fovea type
single central fovea (displaced dorso-temporally from retinal centre)		Group default[21][22][23]
Night visionActivity pattern
diurnal
mode of 7 rows (of 7 rows): diurnal; not_nocturnal; photopic
Measured (not re-verified)[25][26][27][28][2][29][30]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[25][31][32][2][33][34][29][30]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[35][36]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[37]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[25][31][32][2][33][34][29][30]
Rods vs cones
cone-dominated
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[25][26][27][28][2][29][30]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
74.7 Hz
median of 3 bright-light rows (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [69.35, 74.7, 85.0])
Measured[38][39]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[38][40]

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. 2024
  7. Kirk et al. 2004
  8. Veilleux et al. 2014
  9. Cantlay et al. 2023
  10. Lucas et al. 2024
  11. Vision et al. 2026
  12. Pecsics et al. 2023
  13. Portugal et al. 2023
  14. Potier et al. 2018
  15. Potier et al. 2023
  16. Tyrrell et al. 2017
  17. Tyrrell et al. 2017
  18. Heesy 2004
  19. Heffner et al. 1992
  20. Campbell & Green 1965
  21. Moore et al. 2017
  22. Potier et al. 2017
  23. Rodrigues et al. 2026
  24. Kopania et al. 2025
  25. Anderson et al. 2017
  26. Light conditions and the evolution of…
  27. Choiniere et al. 2021
  28. Wilman et al. 2014
  29. Schmitz et al. 2011
  30. Moura et al. 2024
  31. Borges et al. 2018
  32. Wilman et al. 2014
  33. Maor et al. 2017
  34. Jones et al. 2009
  35. Banks et al. 2015
  36. Cervino et al. 2021
  37. Guareschi et al. 2025
  38. Healy et al. 2013
  39. Lafitte et al. 2022
  40. 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.