See Like Animals Open the tool
Menu

Indian peafowl vision: the science and the numbers

Pavo cristatus · order Galliformes · Birds: all the numbers

The Indian peafowl has four colour channels, including violet (422.5, 457, 505 and 566 nm).[1][2] Its sharpest vision resolves 20.6 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[6]

See it on your photoBack to How does the Indian peafowl see?
  • 4colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 20.6cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured

The Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is a bird in the order Galliformes. 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 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 Indian peafowl sees: colour receptors

Indian peafowl colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmIndian peafowl: 4 receptor peaks at 422.5, 457, 505, 566 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Indian peafowl: 422.5, 457, 505, 566 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 20.6 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 Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
4 receptor classes: 422.5 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 457 nm (SWS (blue)), 505 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]
SharpnessAcuity
20.6 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
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 5 rows (of 5 rows): diurnal; not_nocturnal
Measured (not re-verified)[25][26][27][2][28]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[29][30][31][2][32][33][34][28]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[35][36]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[37]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[29][30][31][2][32][33][34][28]
Rods vs cones
cone-dominated
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[25][26][27][2][28]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
104 Hz
median of 1 relatives in family Phasianidae: Gallus gallus
Estimated[38]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[39][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. 2018
  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. Light conditions and the evolution of…
  26. Choiniere et al. 2021
  27. Wilman et al. 2014
  28. Moura et al. 2024
  29. Anderson et al. 2017
  30. Borges et al. 2018
  31. Wilman et al. 2014
  32. Maor et al. 2017
  33. Jones et al. 2009
  34. Schmitz et al. 2011
  35. Banks et al. 2015
  36. Cervino et al. 2021
  37. Guareschi et al. 2025
  38. Lafitte et al. 2022
  39. Healy et al. 2013
  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.