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Common buzzard vision: the science and the numbers

Buteo buteo · order Accipitriformes · Birds: all the numbers

The common buzzard has four colour channels, including violet (405, 449, 504 and 567 nm).[1][2] Its sharpest vision resolves 64 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[6]

See it on your photoBack to How does the common buzzard see?
  • 4colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 64cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured

The common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a bird in the order Accipitriformes. Its eyes belong to the vision type Raptor telephoto: four cone types, two foveas and very high sharpness. Measured in this species: colour, sharpness and night vision. 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 common buzzard sees: colour receptors

Common buzzard colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmCommon buzzard: 4 receptor peaks at 405, 449, 504, 567 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Common buzzard: 405, 449, 504, 567 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What stands out

  • It has 4 colour receptor classes; people have 3.
  • Its sharpest vision resolves 64 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
  • 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 common buzzard (Buteo buteo), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
4 receptor classes: 405 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 449 nm (SWS (blue)), 504 nm (MWS (green)), 567 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]
SharpnessAcuity
64 cycles per degree
median of 1 anatomical-photoreceptor rows (method priority rule)
Measured[6]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[7][8]
Field of viewBinocular overlap
25.5°
median of 1 relatives in genus Buteo: Buteo jamaicensis
Estimated[9][10]Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[11][12]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[13]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[13]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[11][12]
Total field of view
278°
median total field (measured, or 360 - blind area) of relatives in genus Buteo: Buteo jamaicensis
Estimated[9]
Blind area behind the head
82°		Estimated[9]
Eye placement
lateral		Estimated[9][10]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
1.5
median of 2 relatives in genus Buteo: Buteo brachyurus, Buteo platypterus
Estimated[14]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[15]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[15]
Fovea type
deep central + shallow temporal		Estimated[14]
Night visionActivity pattern
diurnal
mode of 7 rows (of 7 rows): diurnal; not_nocturnal
Measured (not re-verified)[16][17][18][19][2][20][21]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[22][23][24][2][25][26][27][21]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[28][29]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[30]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[22][23][24][2][25][26][27][21]
Rods vs cones
cone-dominated
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[16][17][18][19][2][20][21]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
77.7 Hz
median of 1 relatives in family Accipitridae: Parabuteo unicinctus
Estimated[31]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[32][33]

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. Potier et al. 2020
  7. Kirk et al. 2004
  8. Veilleux et al. 2014
  9. Tyrrell et al. 2017
  10. Tyrrell et al. 2017
  11. Heesy 2004
  12. Heffner et al. 1992
  13. Campbell & Green 1965
  14. Potier et al. 2017
  15. Kopania et al. 2025
  16. Angielczyk et al. 2014
  17. Light conditions and the evolution of…
  18. Choiniere et al. 2021
  19. Wilman et al. 2014
  20. Schmitz et al. 2011
  21. Moura et al. 2024
  22. Anderson et al. 2017
  23. Borges et al. 2018
  24. Wilman et al. 2014
  25. Maor et al. 2017
  26. Jones et al. 2009
  27. Schmitz et al. 2011
  28. Banks et al. 2015
  29. Cervino et al. 2021
  30. Guareschi et al. 2025
  31. Lafitte et al. 2022
  32. Healy et al. 2013
  33. 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.