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Common quail vision: the science and the numbers

Coturnix coturnix · order Galliformes · Birds: all the numbers

The common quail has four colour channels, including violet (418, 450, 505 and 567 nm).[1] Its sharpest vision resolves 6.8 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[5]

See it on your photoBack to How does the common quail see?
  • 4colour receptor classesMeasured*
  • 6.8cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured

The common quail (Coturnix coturnix) is a bird in the order Galliformes. Its eyes belong to the vision type Panoramic grain-eater and wader: four cone types, low to moderate sharpness and an almost all-round field of view. 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 quail sees: colour receptors

Common quail colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmCommon quail: 4 receptor peaks at 418, 450, 505, 567 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Common quail: 418, 450, 505, 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 6.8 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 quail (Coturnix coturnix), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
4 receptor classes: 418 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 450 nm (SWS (blue)), 505 nm (MWS (green)), 567 nm (LWS (long))
measured in this species
Measured (not re-verified)[1]Colour receptors: 3 receptor classes: 421.5 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 532 nm (MWS (green)), 558.4 nm (LWS (long)) Measured (not re-verified)[1][2][3][4]
SharpnessAcuity
6.8 cycles per degree
median of 1 behavioural rows (method priority rule)
Measured[5]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[6][7]
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[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[17][18]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[19]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[19]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[17][18]
Total field of view
338°
group default: median total field of vision type the "Panoramic grain-eater and wader" type within phylum Chordata in species-v1: Columba livia, Scolopax minor
Group default[20][21]
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[22][23][24]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[25]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[25]
Fovea type
single central fovea (displaced dorso-temporally from retinal centre)		Group default[22][23][24]
Night visionActivity pattern
diurnal
mode of 6 rows (of 6 rows): cathemeral; diurnal; not_nocturnal
Measured (not re-verified)[26][27][28][1][29]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[30][31][32][1][33][34][35][29]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[36][37]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[38]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[30][31][32][1][33][34][35][29]
Rods vs cones
cone-dominated
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[26][27][28][1][29]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
104 Hz
median of 1 relatives in family Phasianidae: Gallus gallus
Estimated[39]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[40][41]

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

Sources

  1. Longcore 2023
  2. Kirwan
  3. Müller et al. 2009
  4. Thermal Activation and Photoactivation of Visual… 2004
  5. Caves et al. 2018
  6. Kirk et al. 2004
  7. Veilleux et al. 2014
  8. Cantlay et al. 2023
  9. Lucas et al. 2024
  10. Vision et al. 2026
  11. Pecsics et al. 2023
  12. Portugal et al. 2023
  13. Potier et al. 2018
  14. Potier et al. 2023
  15. Tyrrell et al. 2017
  16. Tyrrell et al. 2017
  17. Heesy 2004
  18. Heffner et al. 1992
  19. Campbell & Green 1965
  20. Martin & Young 1983
  21. Martin 1994
  22. Moore et al. 2017
  23. Potier et al. 2017
  24. Rodrigues et al. 2026
  25. Kopania et al. 2025
  26. Light conditions and the evolution of…
  27. Choiniere et al. 2021
  28. Wilman et al. 2014
  29. Moura et al. 2024
  30. Anderson et al. 2017
  31. Borges et al. 2018
  32. Wilman et al. 2014
  33. Maor et al. 2017
  34. Jones et al. 2009
  35. Schmitz et al. 2011
  36. Banks et al. 2015
  37. Cervino et al. 2021
  38. Guareschi et al. 2025
  39. Lafitte et al. 2022
  40. Healy et al. 2013
  41. 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.