13 March 2025

Owls have excellent eyesight but they see the world differently than we do.

When we look straight ahead (fixation point below) our peripheral vision allows us to faintly see our hand waving near our ear — a 200-220° field of view.

Owls have binocular vision similar to ours but their peripheral vision is much narrower. They cannot even see 180°.

To make matters worse they cannot move their eyes!

Since their eyes are always facing forward, they have to move their heads or their bodies to see anything outside their narrow field of view. Moving their bodies would alert their prey, so owls have evolved to move their heads as far back as they need to see — up to 270°.

• Owls have 14 neck bones for greater flexibility. We have only 7 neck bones
• The owls’ atlanto-occipital neck joint has evolved to move the head further back.

When you can’t move your eyes, you have to move your head.