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European starling vision: the science and the numbers

Sturnus vulgaris · order Passeriformes · Birds: all the numbers

Starlings have four colour channels, including ultraviolet (362, 449, 504 and 563 nm).[1][2] Their sharpest vision resolves 6.29 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[6] Their eyes cover about 296° with 24° seen by both eyes.[9] Starlings stop seeing flicker at 100 Hz, against 60 Hz for people.[28][29]

See it on your photoBack to How do starlings see?
  • 4colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 6.29cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured
  • 296°field of viewEstimated
  • 100hertz flicker fusion (motion)Measured

The European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 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, sharpness, field of view, foveas, 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 starlings see: colour receptors

European starling colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmEuropean starling: 4 receptor peaks at 362, 449, 504, 563 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
European starling: 362, 449, 504, 563 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 6.29 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
  • Its eyes cover about 296° around the head, with 24° seen by both eyes at once.
  • It stops seeing flicker at 100 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks about 1.7 times slower to it.[28][29]
  • 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 European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
4 receptor classes: 362 nm (UVS), 449 nm (SWS (blue)), 504 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
6.29 cycles per degree
median of 1 anatomical-ganglion rows (method priority rule)
Measured[6]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[7][8]
Field of viewBinocular overlap
24°
median of 2 rows (eyes-at-rest rows preferred)
Measured[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
296°
rule: total = 360 - blind area
Derived[9]
Blind area behind the head
64°		Measured[9]
Eye placement
lateral
frontal if binocular overlap >= 60 deg, else lateral
Derived[9][10]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
1
retinal topography
Measured (not re-verified)[14]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[15]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[15]
Fovea type
single central fovea (displaced dorso-temporally from retinal centre)		Measured (not re-verified)[14]
Night visionActivity pattern
diurnal
mode of 6 rows (of 6 rows): diurnal; not_nocturnal; photopic
Measured (not re-verified)[16][17][18][2][19][20]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[16][21][22][2][23][24][19][20]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[25][26]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[27]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[16][21][22][2][23][24][19][20]
Rods vs cones
cone-dominated
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[16][17][18][2][19][20]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
100 Hz
median of 2 bright-light rows (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [100.0])
Measured[28][29]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[28][29]

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. Tyrrell et al. 2017
  11. Heesy 2004
  12. Heffner et al. 1992
  13. Campbell & Green 1965
  14. Moore et al. 2017
  15. Kopania et al. 2025
  16. Anderson et al. 2017
  17. Light conditions and the evolution of…
  18. Wilman et al. 2014
  19. Schmitz et al. 2011
  20. Moura et al. 2024
  21. Borges et al. 2018
  22. Wilman et al. 2014
  23. Maor et al. 2017
  24. Jones et al. 2009
  25. Banks et al. 2015
  26. Cervino et al. 2021
  27. Guareschi et al. 2025
  28. Healy et al. 2013
  29. 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.