FIRST and foremost – an owl can actually see in daylight. There is a common misconception that owls are blind during the day. Owls have a sharp vision during both day and night time. But the vision is extremely efficient during the night, spotting their prey even in the pitch of darkness.
Owls have large tubular shaped eyes which prohibits them from rotating the eyes.
The physical characteristics of their eyes influence their vision greatly. The large area of the eyes allows more light to get into eyes.
Consequently, their pupil expands greatly at night contributing to their excellent ability to see at night.
In fact, they have a greater number of photoreceptor (light-sensitive) cells or rod cells compared to human eyes.
As a result, they have better night vision than us.
Contrastingly during the day, their quality of vision is affected badly due to too much of light that is required for them to see. Their pupils do not shrink as ours in broad daylight so they close their eyes halfway to block some sunlight.
Yet, they can see the surroundings perfectly alright.
