Rabbits have large eyes on the side of their heads, but I wanted to find out how well they see.
Rabbits have a wide range of vision due to the eyes being on the side of the head. They have poor depth perception up close but can see objects further away clearly.
It made sense to me that a rabbit would have to see dangers further away, but I wanted to find out more. Read on if you want more information on what your rabbit can see.
Large Eyes
Rabbits have large eyes that are high on the side of their head. This gives a rabbit an almost 360-degree view and can see far above its head. Without moving their leader, the rabbit has a large field of vision, giving them an excellent picture against predators such as coyotes and wolves.
Rabbits’ eyes have developed to detect from almost any direction predators quickly. The rabbit is very good at finding an escape route from where it is always located.
The two large eyes can be blue, brown, blue-grey, marbled, or red. They can be almost any color except green. As the rabbit ages, the color of the eye darkens.
Can Rabbits See Well At Night?
Rabbits have eyes that are like humans. However, the rabbit can see better in low light.
Among other things, rods and cones make up the eye. The rods help to see in low light levels (night), whereas cones see higher light levels (day).
The rabbit has far more rods than cones, allowing it to see better than humans in the dark. This increased vision comes at a cost, as the image is not as high a resolution as a human.
The rabbit is not a nocturnal animal but does not like to sleep at night and stay up all day. Rabbits are crepuscular, which means they are most active at dusk and dawn.
Their eyesight is perfect for this time of day as their vision is not suited for either bright day-time or dark night-times.
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Can Rabbits See Close Distances?
Rabbits have a blind spot under their chin and in front of their nose. As the eyes are placed on the head’s sides, about 30 degrees of their field of vision overlaps, with 10 degrees in front of them being the blind spot.
The blind spot is approximately 10 degrees in front of their nose. This leads to minimal three-dimensional sight for the rabbit. The rabbit uses a similar system to birds called parallax to determine the distance of an object.
This involves bobbing their head up and down while looking at the distant object. The closer the thing is, the more it moves. This is also called eye scanning.
The rabbit does not see very well in three dimensions, so the world is two-dimensional. The rabbit would not know at first glance if a fox was 100 yards away or 10 yards away. The world to the rabbit is almost like looking at the screen you are reading this on.
If you place a treat in front of your rabbit’s nose, it will not be able to see it, but it will use its smell and taste to find it and what it is. Rabbits have sensitive lips and mouths and very sophisticated taste buds to select their food. Their whiskers and sense of smell also help to choose the correct fare. Now you know why your rabbit is looking at you funny.
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Are Rabbits Color Blind?
The rods and cones that makeup part of the rabbit’s eye tell us if the rabbit can see in color. The cones contain pigments that can see color, whereas the rods do not have color vision pigments.
A rabbit’s eyes hold more rods than cones, reaching 300,000 per square mm compared to 18,000 cones per square mm.
The cones are not sensitive to the red light but are susceptible to green and blue. Most of the retina comprises sensitive green cones, but there are also areas with blue cones.
While they can tell blue and green apart, the rabbit sees other colors as grey.
How Well Can Rabbits See?
Rabbits have eyes that are similar to humans. However, the rabbit will see, with lower quality, granular vision.
Rods and cones, among other things, make the human eye. The rods help to see in low light levels, whereas the cones are used for higher light levels. The rabbit has far more rods than cones, allowing it to see better than humans in the dark.
However, this increased vision comes at a cost as the image is not as high a resolution as a human with more cones in their eyes.
This gives the rabbit a vision that is easier to see in the dark but gives a low-quality effect.
This can mean that when you carry a shopping bag or lift an object, the rabbit may get scared as it doesn’t recognize you when having something.
What Color Are Rabbits Eyes?
Some rabbits have red eyes, and this is caused by albinism. Albinism was bred into rabbits intentionally to have a line that would produce white rabbits all the time.
Albino rabbits have no pigmentation within their bodies. This reduces the coloring of the iris, the colored part of the eye. There is also no color in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.
By looking into their eyes, the red color you see is the red blood in the eye’s back. Albino rabbits are sensitive to sunlight and often move to shade to comfort their eyes. Remember, if you have an albino bunny, your eyes and skin are exposed to direct sunlight.
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How Many Eyelids Do Rabbits Have?
The rabbit has a third eyelid, also known as a nictitating membrane. This membrane keeps the eye clean so they can be more aware of approaching predators. Rabbits sleep with their eyes open to help with this. Although rabbits blink approximately 10-12 times an hour, the third eyelid does not.
The membrane covers the cornea when the globe is retracted into the socket. Although the third eyelid will partially close with sleep or under anesthetic, it never closes more than two-thirds past the cornea.
Conclusion
We have seen that rabbits have an excellent range of vision due to the eyes being on the head’s sides. We now know that they see well in low light conditions, although not pitch black. They can see the colors green and blue due to the rods in their eyes.
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Bryan Harding is a member of the American Society of Mammalogists and a member of the American Birding Association. Bryan is especially fond of mammals and has studied and worked with them around the world. Bryan serves as owner, writer, and publisher of North American Nature.