Wild turkeys have incredible eyesight. Their ability to sense a predator, like a hunter leaning back against a tree, is uncanny. Turkey vision can seem even supernatural at times. But really, it’s just a combination of evolution and physiology. There’s still plenty we don’t know about how turkeys see, but researchers have uncovered plenty of interesting facts, many of which can be useful to hunters.
We know that a turkey’s vision is three times sharper than our own. They can also see nearly eight times farther than we can, and their color vision is far more enhanced than ours. Turkey vision has evolved over the course of millions of years to help them spot predators, locate mates, and identify challengers. Understanding how turkeys see and perceive danger just might help improve your hunting setups this spring.
As a turkey hunter, understanding turkey vision is crucial to successful hunts. A turkey’s eyesight gives them a huge advantage over predators like us hunters. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what turkey vision is like, how their eyes function, and what we can do as hunters to work around their visual abilities
Turkeys Have Remarkable Visual Acuity
Turkeys have incredibly sharp vision, around 3 times better than our 20/20 vision. They can also see at distances up to 8 times farther than humans. This allows them to spot movements and details that we would never notice. Their eyes have evolved this way over millions of years as a key survival adaptation.
So what enables turkeys to see so well? There are a few key factors
Monocular Vision
Turkeys have monocular vision, meaning their eyes work independently This gives them a 270 degree field of view when facing forward By turning their head, they can achieve 360 degrees of vision. The tradeoff is poor depth perception, which is why they constantly bob their heads – to gain perspective.
Color Vision
Turkeys have excellent color vision thanks to 7 types of photoreceptors in their eyes. Their ability to differentiate colors and shades is far beyond our own. This helps them spot camouflaged predators and assess potential mates. Certain colors and patterns stand out against their environment.
A Third Eyelid
Turkeys have a translucent third eyelid called a nictitating membrane. This functions to constantly wipe their eyes clean and provide protection. Their eyeballs are like a pair of self-cleaning binoculars!
How Turkeys Use Their Vision
Turkeys rely heavily on their sharp vision for:
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Detecting predators – Their eyes are attuned to anything unnatural or out of place in their surroundings. Movement, colors, shapes and patterns are quickly assessed.
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Communication – The colors and changes in their head and neck allow turkeys to communicate with flock members.
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Finding food – Enhanced color vision helps turkeys spot food sources.
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Assessing mates – Dominant males have the most vibrant, colorful features.
Turkey Vision Limitations
Of course, turkey vision isn’t perfect. There are a couple key limitations:
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Poor night vision – Turkeys roost in trees at night since they can’t see well in the dark. Hunters must set up well before sunrise when turkeys are most vulnerable.
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Lack of depth perception – As mentioned earlier, their monocular vision means judging distance and depth is difficult. The constant head bobbing helps compensate.
Turkey Vision vs. Human Vision
Let’s recap the key differences between our eyesight and turkeys:
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Acuity – Turkeys see 3-8 times sharper than humans.
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Field of view – 270 degrees for turkeys, around 180 for humans.
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Color vision – Turkeys see more shades and spectrums of color.
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Low light vision – We see better in dark conditions.
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Depth perception – Our binocular vision allows better depth judgement.
Turkey Hunting Tips and Strategies
Knowing how turkey vision stacks up to our own leads to some useful hunting strategies:
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Use camouflage – Blending into the surroundings helps avoid detection. Avoid colors and patterns that stand out.
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Set up early – Get to your spot well before sunrise when turkeys’ eyesight is weakest.
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Remain still – Movement is easily spotted, so stay motionless when turkeys are near.
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Use terrain – Put cover like large trees or ridges between you and the turkey’s approach. Break up your silhouette.
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Avoid backlighting – If the sun is at your back, your silhouette will stand out. Make sure the sun is at the turkey’s back.
Understanding how turkeys use their vision and key advantages and limitations compared to humans helps hunters be more effective. Focus on minimizing movement, blending into the surroundings, and using stealth and cover. With preparation and strategy, we can have plenty of success even against their remarkable eyes.
Turkeys Can See Color–Better Than Us
Of all the vertebrate species on the planet today, birds have the most complex retinas. Accordingly, they perceive a larger and richer spectrum of colors than humans and other mammals do.
Without getting too deep into eyeball science, the human retina has four types of photoreceptors, consisting of one rod and three single cones. Rods help us see in low light, while cones help convert light into color signals, allowing us to see short, moderate, and long wavelengths of blue, green, and red.
A turkey’s retina, on the other hand, has seven different types of photoreceptors: one rod, four single cones, and two double cones. This allows turkeys (and other birds) to see a spectrum of colors that are imperceptible to the naked human eye.
Dr. Chamberlain tells Outdoor Life that there’s some debate among the scientific community about whether or not turkeys can see in the UV spectrum. Regardless, he says, their color vision is “extremely acute.” This gives the birds another advantage when scanning their surroundings for predators.
“They can just pinpoint colors so well,” Chamberlain says. “Blues, blacks, and other things in their environment that may not look natural, they can pick these out immediately.”
The importance of color goes beyond predator detection, however. Hen turkeys use their enhanced color vision to seek out mates, as the fitter, more dominant toms are always more colorful than the others.
A strutting tom makes his presence known. Adobe stock
“If you’re a dominant male, you’re going to breed more than a subordinate tom,” Chamberlain explains. “They’re more fit and more aggressive. They have longer snoods, more colorful heads, and more iridescence [in their feathers].”
Turkeys also have the amazing ability to change their head color to communicate and express emotions, like when a strutting gobbler’s head transitions from bluish-white to a bright reddish color.
Turkeys Can See in All Directions at Once
When it comes to keeping an eye out for predators, a wild turkey’s greatest asset is its ability to see in all directions at once. Turkeys have monocular vision, which means their eyeballs function independently of one another. (As opposed to our own binocular vision that uses both eyes in concert.) This gives the birds a 270-degree field of vision when their heads are perfectly still. But as most turkey hunters know, this is rarely the case.
“If you pay attention, [turkeys] turn their heads constantly. And because their eyes are working independently, that offers them a 360-degree field of view,” says Dr. Mike Chamberlain, a Distinguished Professor at the University of Georgia who’s been researching wild turkeys for the past 30 years. “Whereas you and I have peripheral vision, but we can’t see above or behind us, turkeys can. By changing their head posture constantly, it allows their eyes to pick up movement as two independent periscopes.”
Chamberlain says turkeys also rely on their keen sense of hearing to augment their vision. Working in combination, these two senses allow them to quickly and accurately pinpoint potential predators and other turkeys.
“Their hearing is the same in the sense that each ear registers the sound independently and transmits it to their brain. Coupled with their vision, they can hear something, look in that direction, and they can pinpoint exactly where that sound is coming from,” he explains. “That’s why they have that uncanny ability [to locate other birds]. You call at them from the tree, and ten minutes later they’re standing right there at the tree.”
The biggest trade-off for being able to see in all directions at once is that turkeys don’t have clear depth perception. The classic turkey head bob helps with this shortcoming, according to The Wild Turkey: Biology and Management, a book that was published in 1992 by the National Wild Turkey Federation and edited by Dr. James G. Dickson.
“Though the three dimensions of space cannot be clearly perceived,” Dickson writes, “the turkey can determine relative distances by a slight turning of its head and viewing an object at different angles.”
Turkey Vision: What do Turkeys see?
FAQ
Are turkeys’ eyesight good?
Both hawks and turkeys can see details very well. Turkeys have estimated 60/20 vision, or they see as well at 60 yards what we see at 20. Additionally, both birds take in visual images much faster than humans. This means they can detect both very fast and very slow movement much better.
Can a turkey see you blink?
Turkeys have such precise eyesight; they can see someone blink. They will notice the glint on your glasses or your firearm, so keep all that in mind when setting up.
Do turkeys have binocular vision?
Their eyes are located on the side of their head, meaning they have monocular, periscopic vision. “Humans have binocular vision and can judge distance quickly,” Eriksen said. “Wild turkeys overcome their monocular vision by turning their heads to better judge distance.