Colour

How Animals See Colour

Dogs, cats, mice, rats and rabbits have very poor colour vision.
In fact, they see mostly greys and some blues and yellows.

This is what humans see.

This is what dogs & cats see.

What about bulls? Does a red cape make them angry?
Does a red cape make them want to attack it?

This is what humans see.

This is what a bull sees.

Bulls are colour-blind. They charge the red cape because it is moving, not because it is red.

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Some animals do have good colour vision. Monkeys, ground squirrels, birds, insects, and many fish can see a fairly good range of colour. In some cases it's not as good as what we humans see - but it's much better than cats and dogs.

Scientists say that good colour vision helps animals find food on the land or in the water. For land animals, good colour vision helps to tell the difference between ripe red fruit and unripe green fruit. Finally, the ability to see colours helps animals identify predators (other animals who may attack them).