Have you ever wondered how your rabbit sees? The realm of rabbit vision is a complex sensory landscape that these small mammals rely upon for survival and navigation.
And understanding the specifics of how rabbits perceive the world around them offers a glimpse into the evolution and adaptability of their species, and will make you a more intentional rabbit owner and homesteader!
The Basics Of Rabbit Vision
Rabbit vision is far from a simple subject. We’ve gone into detail on the physiology of lagomorph vision in our post Rabbit Vision: How Do Rabbits See? which we encourage you to check out, but we will go over some of the basics here just so we are on the same page!
Just How Do Rabbits See
Rabbits, with their wide-set eyes, have evolved to optimize their visual coverage.
Positioned on the sides of their heads, their eyes provide an almost panoramic field of view, granting them a remarkable advantage in spotting predators from multiple angles without making conspicuous head movements.
As natural prey animals, this allows them to be alert but low-key!
However, the unique positioning of their eyes does result in a small blind spot directly in front of their noses and behind their heads, prompting the characteristic behavior known as “nose bobbing,” an efficient compensation mechanism.
Do Rabbits See Color Or Black And White
Rabbits only have photoreceptors in their eyes for blue and green light.
As such, bunnies are partially color blind: all red light wavelengths look grayish or appear as off shades of blue and green.
So, to answer the question: bunnies see in both color and in shades of gray.
Can Bunnies See Color
With blue and green light photoreceptors, rabbits can distinguish the different colors of their primary food: plants!
They can also see some fruits and flowers in color, which both wild and domestic rabbits can eat. But anything in red, orange, and select shades of pink will be quite bland and grayscale for bunnies.
Our domestic homestead rabbits have been most stimulated by green or blue toys, and I often wonder if our bunnies enjoy zucchini so much because they can see its beautiful green color!
Can Rabbits See In The Dark
Just like the human eye, a rabbit’s eye has rods and cones. Rods assist in seeing in low light but offer a grainy picture, while cones create resolution and detail, and help determine blue and green colors.
Moreover, a rabbit’s retina has a much higher ratio of rods to cones than our human retina, which means bunnies see in low light much better than humans.
To learn more about rabbit’s night vision, check out our post on Can Rabbits See In The Dark?
What Color Can Rabbits Not See
A ripe red tomato or fresh yellow squash is not so colorful to a rabbit! Bunnies cannot see the following colors:
- Red
- Pink
- Orange
- Yellow
- Purple
Note that if a color contains green or blue, the rabbit will be able to distinguish this, while the rest will be grayscale.
Frequently Asked Questions Related To Can Rabbits See Color
Can Rabbits See In Front Of Them?
No, a rabbit cannot see directly in front of itself! This is where their whiskers and nose come in to help keep track of what is in that blind spot right in front of their nose.
How Far Can Rabbits See?
As natural prey animals, rabbits have developed farsighted vision. This means they can see things at a distance more clearly than upclose, although there isn’t a clear answer on just how far!
For a good read, check out this interesting research on induced myopia (nearsightedness) in rabbits!
Final Thoughts on Can Bunnies See Color
Rabbit vision is a super interesting topic, one that we encourage all rabbit raisers and homesteaders with bunnies to be curious about!
As heavily preyed on small mammals, the colors rabbits can see have helped them detect threats, locate sustenance, and maneuver through their surroundings with remarkable efficiency.
And supplemented by their heightened sense of smell and acute hearing, rabbit color vision is just one piece of their sensory puzzle.
Finally, even if your domestic rabbits aren’t facing the same stressors as wild rabbits, it’s thrilling to know which evolutionary advantages they exhibit!