Which animals see in color

So it's true that dogs don't see as many colors as us, but they're not colorblind; it's just that they only see shades of blue and yellow. This is true for cats as well , and actually for most mammals in the world. We might see more colors than they do, but dogs and cats have more rods than us, meaning that they're better able to see at night. And before you start bragging, keep in mind that humans aren't at the top of the color-vision chain, either. Like I said, humans have three color-receptor cones in our eyes, and we tend to think that we can see all the colors there are to be seen.

But actually, there are other animals that have more cones and see far more colors than we do. Bees and butterflies , for example, have four color-receptor cones.

They can see an amazing spectrum of colors, including ultraviolet colors. On the other hand, they don't see much in the way of detail.

The photoreceptors in their eyes that make this possible are important, because many types of flowers have ultraviolet patterns on their petals—these work like a runway strip for a plane , allowing the bees and butterflies to zero in on the nectar they want to eat.

These extra color receptors might also be useful for warning coloration which is when animals display bold patterns or colors to ward off predators—for a refresher, check out last year's Pop Sci post about animal coloration.

Pythons, boas, rattlesnakes, and other members of the snake family known as pit vipers are able to see in infrared , which means that they "see" in heat signatures also known as thermal sensing. Human vision is among the sharpest of all animals, thanks to densely packed cones at the center of our retina. However, cats have more rods than humans, so by moonlight, the advantage is reversed. Bees are trichromats like humans. But instead of red, green, and blue, their three types of photoreceptors are sensitive to yellow, blue, and ultraviolet light.

The ability to see ultraviolet light lets bees spot patterns on flower petals that guide them to nectar. But the photograph does capture the ultraviolet vision that we lack. Unlike humans, birds are tetrachromats. Their four types of cone cells let them see red, green, blue, and ultraviolet together.

A few birds of prey have sharper vision than humans, Nilsson says. A large eagle sees with about 2. List of Characteristics of Mammals. How to Test for Night Vision. How Light Travels Through the Eye. Rare Human Eye Colors. Animals in Forest Ecosystems. Animals That Use Echolocation. What Animals Live in the Mesopelagic Zone? Types of Stingray Fish. Poisonous Spiders in the Northeast. Pinhole eyes are the shape of a deep cup and have a narrow opening, but no lens.

They are just one of an enormous variety of eyes owned by molluscs - animals such as slugs, snails, oysters and octopuses - which demonstrate different steps in eye evolution. Although giant clams are sensitive to three different colours of light, they are unable to combine the information - instead, they see colourful but undefined images. However, their eyes are able to detect nearby movement, so that the clams can take action either by squirting a jet of water to startle a potential predator or by closing their shell.

Excellent vision from four pairs of eyes helps these spiders hunt. When they spot potential prey, they pounce. Their biggest pair of eyes face forward and give the spider high-resolution vision. The other, smaller eyes are used for peripheral vision and detecting motion. Jumping spiders can see a broader spectrum of colours than we can. They even have pigments sensitive to ultraviolet light, so they are able to see more details in this flower's petals than we can.

Meet some of the brightest and boldest creatures in the animal kingdom, where colour is a matter of life and death. Get email updates about our news, science, exhibitions, events, products, services and fundraising activities. You must be over the age of Privacy notice. Smart cookie preferences.