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Rabbit vision: the science and the numbers

Oryctolagus cuniculus · order Lagomorpha · Mammals: all the numbers

Rabbits have 2 colour receptor classes (425 and 523 nm): mainly blues and yellows; reds and greens look alike.[1] Their sharpest vision resolves 2.625 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[5][6] Rabbits stop seeing flicker at 30 Hz, against 60 Hz for people.[23]

See it on your photoBack to How do rabbits see?
  • 2colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 2.625cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured
  • 30hertz flicker fusion (motion)Measured

The rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is a mammal in the order Lagomorpha. Its eyes belong to the vision type Small prey mammal (UV): two or three cone types, often including ultraviolet, low sharpness and a near-panoramic field. Measured in this species: colour, sharpness, 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 rabbits see: colour receptors

Rabbit colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmRabbit: 2 receptor peaks at 425, 523 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Rabbit: 425, 523 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What stands out

  • It has two colour receptor classes (a dichromat): reds and greens fall on one axis, as in red-green colour blindness in people.
  • Its sharpest vision resolves 2.625 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
  • It stops seeing flicker at 30 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks choppier to it.[24][25]
  • Activity pattern: cathemeral.

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 rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
2 receptor classes: 425 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 523 nm (MWS (green))
measured in this species
Measured[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
2.625 cycles per degree
median of 2 behavioural rows (method priority rule)
Measured[5][6]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[5][6]
Field of viewBinocular overlap
75°
median of 41 relatives in class Mammalia: Octodon degus, Octodon lunatus, Equus caballus, Ovis aries, Bos taurus, Capra hircus
Group default[7][8][9][10]Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[7][8]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[11]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[11]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[7][8]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
0
fovea_present / area_centralis_type (retinal topography; count 1 = fovea present, 0 = none)
Measured[12]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[12]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[12]
Fovea type
horizontal streak		Measured[12]
Night visionActivity pattern
cathemeral
mode of 7 rows (of 8 rows): cathemeral; mixed (nocturnal/crepuscular, cathemeral, crepuscular or diurnal/crepuscular); nocturnal; scotopic
Measured (not re-verified)[13][14][1][15][16][17][18][6]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[19][13][14][1][15][16][17][18]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[20][21]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[22]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[19][13][14][1][15][16][17][18]
Rods vs cones
mixed
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[13][14][1][15][16][17][18][6]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
30 Hz
median of 1 rows (no bright-light flag) (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [30.0])
Measured[23]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[24][25]

All mammals side by side: Mammals: 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. Kirk et al. 2004
  6. Veilleux et al. 2014
  7. Heesy 2004
  8. Heffner et al. 1992
  9. Vega-Zuniga et al. 2013
  10. Vega-Zuniga et al. 2017
  11. Campbell & Green 1965
  12. Kopania et al. 2025
  13. Borges et al. 2018
  14. Wilman et al. 2014
  15. Maor et al. 2017
  16. Jones et al. 2009
  17. Schmitz et al. 2011
  18. Moura et al. 2024
  19. Anderson et al. 2017
  20. Banks et al. 2015
  21. Cervino et al. 2021
  22. Guareschi et al. 2025
  23. Haarlem et al. 2026
  24. Healy et al. 2013
  25. 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.