Appreciating birds as a creature goes beyond the beauty and fascination they bring. From aesthetic value to bringing emotional well-being, birds have brought a lot of good qualities with them.
The diversity in their appearance, characteristics, behavior, etc makes everyone’s heart fill with gratitude for their sheer existence as they become a cultural and artistic inspiration for thousands.
This diversity in these creatures includes birds that are small but have comparatively large beaks, birds with stripes in different colors, birds with extra large eyes, birds with bellies in different colors, birds with strong sexual dimorphism, etc.
In this article, we are about to introduce you to an intriguing list of birds that have comparatively bigger eyes.
Moreover, this list includes some basic information and interesting facts about them which will compel you to know about them even more.
Without further ado, let’s start our flight on the journey of getting acquainted with these special featured species.
Contents
12 Bewildering Birds With Big Eyes
There are birds that are the sole owner of big eyes in their species and then there are some species in which almost all the members have big eyes. Most of these species possess an enhanced vision with specialized dietary requirements and predatory deterrence.
Let’s take a close look through the list of 12 big-eyed bird species and get to know more about their existence while appreciating them.
Peregrine Falcon
Source: @thescottishfalconer
- Scientific Name: Falco peregrinus
- Size: 34 to 58 cm (13 to 23 in)
- Locality: North America
- Status: Least Concern
- Breeding Season: Late March through May
Peregrine Falcon is known to be a one-of-a-kind bird that has the ability to reach a faster speed than any other animals existing on the planet. Moreover, they reach their speed while performing the stoop. Reaching this sort of speed might have been dangerous for this species if they did not have third eyelids. They use these third eyelids to protect their eyes by spreading tears while maintaining enhanced and clear vision.
These species are famed for their stunning dark black eyes as well. Their eyes look even bigger in size and darker because of the vibrant yellow eye ring around the black part of their eye.
Potoo Bird
Source: @zookeeper_ryan
- Family Name: Nyctibiidae
- Size: 21 to 58 cm (8.3 to 22.8 in)
- Locality: Central and South America
- Status: Least Concern
- Breeding Season: Between February and August
Potoo birds look as funny and quirky as their name for their head which is relatively larger than their body and their enormous eyes. They are so big that when in flight it seems like only a massive head and eye is floating around. This makes it easier to spot them from afar.
Their eyes are so big that they appear almost as large and sometimes even larger than that of a nightjar. Similar to other nocturnal species, these eyes can even reflect flashlights. There is an uncommon slit amidst their eyelids which helps them detect movement even with their eyes closed. It helps them be aware of their prey and predators.
Common Ostrich
Source: @chrisangphoto
- Scientific Name: Struthio camelus
- Size: 210 to 275 cm ( 83 to 108 in)
- Locality: Large Areas of Africa
- Status: Least Concern
- Breeding Season: March to August
The Common Ostrich is matchless with any land vertebrate in comparison with their eye size. It is said that they have the largest among all of them, possessing almost 50 mm (2 in) in diameter. These large eyes and acute eyesight help them to spot their predators from afar and protect themselves.
When they come across a temperature that is below their body temperature, the Common Ostrich makes sure that heat loss only occurs through the warmest part of the body, such as their eyes. This species even possess gracefully long eyelashes that protect their eyes and shade them from extreme sunlight. They need this specialized shelter because their eyes already tend to be one of the warmest areas of their bodies.
Rock Kestrel
Source: @dullstroombirdofprey
- Scientific Name: Falco rupicolus
- Size: 30 to 33 cm ( 11.81 to 13 in)
- Locality: Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, South Africa
- Status: Least Concern
- Breeding Season: Late April or Early May
Rock Kestrel, a mid-sized species, is renowned for its different forms of hunting. Among them, two are primary, such as hiver hunting and perch hunting. Hover hunting is usually employed to hunt and eat small prey during flight. Perch hunting is employed to scan around looking for the perfect prey.
Both of these hunting skills require an enhanced and clear vision to spot the prey from afar. This is the reason why they possess ink-black colored big eyes with bright mustard yellow colored eye rings. Their comparatively smaller body and big eyes make them appear adorable even as a predatory bird.
Spotted Thick-Knee
Source: @fatensmithphotography
- Scientific Name: Burhinus capensis
- Size: 45.5 cm (17.9 in)
- Locality: Central and Southern Africa
- Status: Least Concern
- Breeding Season: Spring or Early Summer
The Spotted Thick-Knee is known for its distinctive appearance that makes it not that easily detectable helping it camouflage in nature. However, if avian enthusiasts want to spot this one by sight then they should search for a pair of massive bright yellow eyes. Their unique-shaped white eyebrows make them appear angry and ready to fight all the time.
Their stunningly large yellow eyes are not only for bird lovers to appreciate. These species use them at night foraging around. Moreover, their food preferences include insects, small mammals, lizards, etc which would have been harder to spot on the ground if it was not for their big eyes.
Philippine Eagle
Source: @pugad_ni_jonet
- Scientific Name: Pithecophaga jefferyi
- Size: 86 to 102 cm (33.84 to 40.2 in)
- Locality: Philippine
- Status: Critically Endangered
- Breeding Season: October to December
The Philippine Eagle is one of the largest eagles that is infamous for eating monkeys. This large species has a bold and scary appearance with large eyes that have a unique blue and grey color combination. Their creamy brown colored nape and crown only accentuate their large eyes making them appear more intimidating.
This species is known to employ two hunting strategies such as still-hunting and perch-hunting. Still-hunting includes hunting while staying still and stalking the prey silently and motionlessly. Perch hunting, on the other hand, includes hunting while gradually moving downwards from canopy to branches.
Osprey
Source: @erkkob
- Scientific Name: Pandion haliaetus
- Size: 50 to 66 cm (20 to 26 in)
- Locality: All over the world
- Status: Least Concern
- Breeding Season: January to May
The Osprey, a diurnal bird of prey, is renowned for possessing a dark mask-like mark across the eyes. This mark reaches to the sides of their neck making them easier to spot. The color of their irises can range from shades of golden to brown and the transparent part of the nictitating membrane is a dull blue. The pale blue color helps enhance the iris color even more.
Their big beautiful eyes help them have an exemplary vision providing them the ability to detect their prey clearly on even underwater surfaces. This species can easily spot their desired fish from the air and catch it by diving into the water.
Hornbill
Source: @s__birds
- Scientific Name: Bucerotidae
- Size: 32 cm (13 in)
- Locality: Africa, Asia, and Melanesia
- Status: Vulnerable
- Breeding Season: Between February and May
Hornbill’s eyes enable them to be visually alert and become effective predators while communicating with their species and flock members. Their large eyes help them possess an impressive visual range without moving around their head. The positioning of their eyes also allows them to have binocular vision. However, unlike most other birds of this species, their specialized vision gets interrupted because of their bill.
The color of their eyes can range from bright yellow to crimson red. Some of them have black or brown eyes as well. Their comparatively big eyes get protection and are shielded by their long eyelashes from the sun.
Owls
Source: @darooger
- Order Name: Strigiformes
- Size: 13 to 70 cm (5 to 28 inches)
- Locality: All regions
- Status: Not Threatened
- Breeding Season: Typically in Spring
Owls have a diverse range of species and subspecies that are different in color, size, shape, etc. But most of them possess enormous forward-facing eyes and a facial disc with a circle of feathers around each of these eyes. Moreover, they are known to be birds of prey which are famous for having their eyes on their sides. But owls, on the other hand, use their forward-facing eyes to see things with more depth, helping them in their nocturnal hunting.
This species is also known to possess binocular vision, however, their eyes are permanently fixed in their sockets. Hence, they have to move their whole head to properly see something.
Loons
Source: @james.overesch
- Family Name: Gaviidae
- Size: 71 to 92 cm (28 to 36 in)
- Locality: North America and Northern Eurasia
- Status: Not Extinct
- Breeding Season: May or June
Loons, an iconic waterbird, are famed for their swimming ability and vibrant colored highly spaced big eyes. They usually have a diverse range of colors in their eyes that can vary depending on their age and region. However, typically, they have crimson red colored eyes. This species uses its unique colored eyes and sight to hunt for fish.
Loons are known for their special salt glands directly placed above their eyes helping them adapt to changes in salinity. It helps flush out extra salt in their blood through nasal passages and consume fish immediately.
Penguins
Source: @pairpenguin
- Order Name: Sphenisciformes
- Size: 110 cm (43 in)
- Locality: Southern Hemisphere
- Status: Least Concern to Endangered
- Breeding Season: March or April
Penguins are reputed for their underwater adaptive nature. Their eyes have been adjusted to spot fish clearly underwater while simultaneously avoiding predators. Due to their bill position, sometimes they can not spot things that are directly placed in front of their bill and they have to tilt their heads to avoid this blind spot. The position of their eyes provides them a binocular vision, color vision, and sometimes even night vision.
These visual abilities help them successfully survive and navigate their way around in a marine environment. Moreover, their keen vision and adaptations of sight contribute to turning them into skilled hunters while surviving in an otherwise cold and harsh environment.
Toucans
Source: @pixelliciousart
- Family Name: Ramphastidae
- Size: 29 cm (11 in)
- Locality: Southern Mexico, Central America, South America south to northern Argentina
- Status: Least Concern
- Breeding Season: Spring
Toucans, a strikingly diverse species, are known for their relatively large eyes. The positioning of their eyes allows them to have a wide range and impressive peripheral vision. Some of them are known to possess color vision as well as incredible depth perception.
This species uses its awe-inspiring eyes to look during the day as well as in low-light settings. Moreover, they can move their head 180 degrees to observe clearly from different directions.
FAQ
Now that you are more familiar with big-eyed birds you might still have some inquiries about them. Hence, I have answered a couple of frequently asked questions to further ignite your interest in these birds.
Q: Do big eyes help birds see further?
Ans: Yes, in most cases, big eyes do help the birds see further and better. Big eyes are usually common in birds of prey including owls, raptors, etc as they need more photoreceptors than most other birds to detect their prey from afar. These birds can identify their prey in even darker settings as well. For example, eagles can spot them from as far as 2 miles away and have a vision that is 8 times better than that of a human.
Q: Why do birds have bigger eyes?
Ans: To move from one place to another most birds have to depend on their ability to fly. Hence, compared to most other mammals, they need better vision to avoid having any collision in the air as well as spot their prey from a distance so that they can get it while flying. This is the reason most birds have comparatively bigger eyes.
Parting Thoughts
The size of eyes can be highly subjective and many of you might not feel that the list of birds I have presented meet the criteria of so-called large eyes.
I have included almost all the birds that possess big eyes. Moreover, I have included some birds whose subspecies have comparatively big eyes.
Some of them are apparent to the eyes and some of them might seem not that out of the ordinary.
But when comparing them to other species of the size their eyes do appear excessively large.
Regardless of the size of their eyes, beaks, etc we should all try to understand the importance of protecting our feathered friends and their environment, promoting biodiversity conservation, and encouraging a more sustainable and empathetic relationship with them.
