This page lists the spatial acuity values measured for a large range of species (currently over 60 species). If you are aware of any other species to be added please get in touch via the forum. The “cycles-per-degree” values listed can be used in the AcuityView tool, or the Gaussian Acuity Control tool. If the acuity of your receiver species isn’t listed, these lists should help you determine a likely “upper estimate” and “lower estimate” based on taxonomic relatedness, eye size and behavioural ecology. Repeat your analysis with both upper and lower estimates.
Collected Species
This table is based on table S1 published with AcuityView: Caves, E. M., & Johnsen, S. (2018). AcuityView: An r package for portraying the effects of visual acuity on scenes observed by an animal. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 9(3), 793–797. doi:10.1111/2041-210X.12911
If you use any of the values from this table please cite the original source in addition to Caves & Johnsen et al. (2018).
| Common Name | Species Name | Acuity (cyc/deg) | Citation |
| Eagle | Aquila audax | 140 | (Reymond, 1985) |
| Human | Homo sapiens | 73 | (Land 1981) |
| 72 | (Land and Nilsson 2012) | ||
| Octopus | Octopus vulgaris | 46 | (Young 1962; Land 1981) |
| Jumping Spider | Portia fimbriata | 12 | (Williams & McIntyre 1980) |
| Cat | Felis catus | 10 | (Wässle 1971) |
| Goldfish | Carassius auratus | 7 | (Penzlin & Stubbe 1977) |
| Triggerfish | Rhinecanthus aculeatus | 2.75 | (Champ et al. 2014) |
| Dragonfly | Aeschna grandis | 2 | (Mazokhin-Porshnyakov 1969; Land 1997) |
| Hooded Rat | Rattus norvegicus | 1 | (Wiesenfeld & Branchek 1975) |
| Worker Bee | Apis mellifera | 0.5 | (Wehner 1981; Land 1997) |
| Crab | Leptograspus variegatus | 0.3 | (Stowe 1980) |
| Scallop | Pecten maximus | 0.3 | (Land 1981) |
| Wolf Spider | Lycosa spp. | 0.2 | (Widmann 1908; Homann 1931) |
| Fly | Drosophila melanogaster | 0.09 | (Wehner 1981; Land 1997) |
| Horseshoe Crab | Limulus polyphemus | 0.08 | (Barlow, Chamberlain & Levinson 1980) |
| Nautilus | Nautilus spp. | 0.06 | (Land 1981) |
| Flatworm | Euplanaria gonocephala | 0.01 | (Land 1981) |
Birds
This table is from Graham Martin’s “Sensory Ecology of Birds” (2017) Oxford University Press, reproduced with the kind permission of the author. This textbook is an excellent introduction to avian sensory ecology and is highly recommended reading! If you use any value from this table please cite the original source, and Graham Martin’s textbook.
| Order | Family | Species | Acuity (cyc/deg) | Acuity (minutes of arc) | Method | Sources |
| Struthioniformes | Struthionidae (Ostriches) | Common Ostrich Struthio camelus | 19.8 | 1.5 | ganglion | (Boire et al. 2001) |
| Anseriformes | Anatidae (Ducks, Geese and Swans) | Mallard Anas platyrhynchos | 11.9 | 2.52 | ganglion | (Lisney et al. 2013a) |
| Canada Goose Branta canadensis | 9.6 | 3.1 | ganglion | (Fernandez-Juricic et al. 2011) | ||
| Galliformes | Phasianidae (Pheasants and allies) | Grey Partridge Perdix perdix | 10.2 | 2.9 | ganglion | (Lisney et al. 2012) |
| Japanese Quail Coturnix coturnix | 9.7 | 3.1 | ganglion | “ | ||
| Red Jungle Fowl Gallus gallus | 8.3 | 3.6 | ganglion | (Ehrlich 1981) | ||
| Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus | 12.9 | 2.3 | ganglion | (Lisney et al. 2012) | ||
| Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus | 20.6 | 1.5 | ganglion | (Hart 2002) | ||
| Procellariiformes | Hydrobatidae (Northern Storm Petrels) | Leach’s Storm Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa | 7.1 | 4.2 | ganglion | (Mitkus 2015) |
| Procellariidae (Petrels, Shearwaters) | Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis | 44.7 | 0.7 | ganglion | “ | |
| Suliformes | Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants, Shags) | Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo | 3.3 (underwater) | 9.1 | behaviour | (White et al. 2007) |
| Accipitriformes | Cathartidae (New World Vultures) | Turkey Vulture Cathartes atratus | 15.4 | 1.9 | ganglion | (Lisney et al. 2013b) |
| Black Vulture Coragyps aura | 15.8 | 1.9 | ganglion | “ | ||
| Accipitridae (Kites, Hawks and Eagles) | Indian Vulture Gyps indicus | 135 | 0.2 | behaviour | (Fischer 1969) | |
| Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus | 104 | 0.3 | behaviour | “ | ||
| Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus | 135 | 0.2 | behaviour | “ | ||
| Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax | 142 | 0.2 | behaviour | (Reymond 1985) | ||
| Black Kite Milvus migrans | 37.3 | 0.8 | behaviour | (Potier et al. 2016) | ||
| Harris’s Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus | 29.3 | 1.0 | behaviour | “ | ||
| Columbiformes | Columbidae (Pigeons, Doves) | American Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura | 7.6 | 3.9 | ganglion | (Dolan and Fernandez-Juricic 2010) |
| Rock Dove Columba livia | 18 | 1.7 | behaviour | (Hodos et al. 1976) | ||
| Strigiformes | Tytonidae (Barn Owls) | Western Barn Owl Tyto alba | 4.0 | 7.5 | behaviour | (Harmening et al. 2009) |
| Strigidae (Owls) | Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus | 7.5 | 4.0 | behaviour | (Fite 1973) | |
| Tawny Owl Strix aluco | 11.1 | 2.7 | behaviour | (Martin and Gordon 1974) | ||
| Coraciiformes | Alcedinidae (Kingfishers) | Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae | 41 | 0.7 | ganglion | (Moroney and Pettigrew 1987) |
| Sacred Kingfisher Todiramphus sanctus | 26 | 1.2 | ganglion | “ | ||
| Falconiformes | Falconidae (Caracaras, Falcons) | American Kestrel Falco sparverius | 40 | 0.75 | behaviour | (Hirsch 1982) |
| Brown Falcon Falco berigora | 73 | 0.4 | behaviour | (Reymond 1987) | ||
| Psittaciformes | Psittaculidae (Old World Parrots) | Bourke’s Parrot Neopsephotus bourkii | 9.4 | 3.2 | behaviour | (Lind et al. 2012) |
| Budgerigar Melopsittacus undulatus | 11.7 | 2.6 | behaviour | “ | ||
| Passeriformes | Meliphagidae (Honeyeaters) | Brown Honeyeater Lichmera indistincta | 20.2 | 1.5 | photoreceptor spacing | (Coimbra et al. 2015) |
| Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata | 40.8 | 0.7 | photoreceptor spacing | “ | ||
| Acanthizidae (Australasian Warblers) | Yellow-rumped Thornbill Acanthiza chrysorrhoa | 25.6 | 1.2 | photoreceptor spacing | “ | |
| Corvidae (Crows, Jays) | Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata | 19 | 1.6 | ganglion | (Fite and Rosenfield-Wessels 1975) | |
| Eurasian Magpie Pica pica | 33.3 | 0.9 | behaviour | (Dabrowska 1975) | ||
| Rook Corvus frugilegus | 29.5 | 1.0 | behaviour | “ | ||
| Paridae (Tits, Chickadees) | Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor | 6.6 | 4.5 | ganglion | (Moore et al. 2013) | |
| Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis | 5 | 0.6 | ganglion | “ | ||
| Zosteropidae (White-eyes) | Silvereye Zosterops lateralis | 18.5 | 1.6 | photoreceptor spacing | (Coimbra et al. 2015) | |
| Turdidae (Thrushes) | Common Blackbird Turdus merula | 22.5 | 1.3 | behaviour | (Donner 1951) | |
| European Robin Erithacus rubecula | 6 | 5.0 | behaviour | “ | ||
| Passeridae (Old World Sparrows) | House Sparrow Passer domesticus | 4.8 | 6.3 | ganglion | (Dolan and Fernandez-Juricic 2010) | |
| Fringillidae (Finches) | Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs | 22.5 | 1.3 | behaviour | (Donner 1951) | |
| House Finch Haemorhus mexicanus | 4.7 | 6.4 | ganglion | (Dolan and Fernandez-Juricic 2010) | ||
| Emberizidae (Buntings, New World Sparrows) | Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella | 9.7 | 3.1 | behaviour | (Donner 1951) | |
| Common Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus | 7.8 | 3.8 | behaviour | “ | ||
| Human | 72 | 0.4 | behaviour | (Land and Nilsson 2012) |
References
Barlow, R.B., Chamberlain, S.C. & Levinson, J.Z. (1980). Limulus brain modulates the structure and function of the lateral eyes. Science, 210, 1037–1039.
Homann, H. (1931). Beiträge zur Physiologie der Spinnenaugen. I. Untersuchungsmethoden. II. Das Sehvermögen der Salticiden. Z. Vergl. Physiol., 14, 40–67.
Land, M.F. (1981). Optics and vision in invertebrates. Handbook of Sensory Physiology (ed H. Autrum), pp. 471–592. Springer, Berlin.
Land, M.F. (1997). Visual acuity in insects. Annual review of entomology, 42, 147–177.
Mazokhin-Porshnyakov, G.A. (1969). Insect Vision. Plenum Press, New York.
Penzlin, V.H. & Stubbe, M. (1977). Studies on the visual acuity in the Goldfish. Zool. Jb. Physiol. Bd., 81, 310–326.
Reymond, L. (1985). Spatial visual acuity of the eagle Aquila audax: A behavioural, optical and anatomical investigation. Vision Research, 25, 1477–1491.
Stowe, S. (1980). Spectral sensitivity and retinal pigment movement in the crab Leptograspus variegatus (Fabricius). Journal of Experimental Biology, 87, 73–99.
Wässle, H. (1971). Optical quality of the cat eye. Vision Research, 11, 995–1006.
Wehner, R. (1981). Spatial vision in arthropods. Handbook of Sensory Physiology, Vol. VII/6C (ed H. Autrum), pp. 287–616. Springer, Berlin.
Widmann, E. (1908). Über den feineren Bau der Augen einiger Spinnen. Z. Wiss. Zool., 90, 258–312.
Wiesenfeld, Z. & Branchek, T. (1975). Refractive state and visual acuity in the hooded rat. Vision Research, 16, 823–827.
Williams, D.S. & McIntyre, P. (1980). The principal eyes of a jumping spider have a telephoto component. Nature, 288, 578–580.