Are deer color blind, or does that orange hunting gear give you away in the woods? Learn about what colors deer can see & which they can't. A deer's eye sees colors and spots movement differently than the human eye, and understanding those differences can make us better hunters. So, what colors can deer see? We know that deer can see a limited range of colors, and research shows they can actually see some colors better than humans can.
What Colors Deer Perceive Deer are not entirely colorblind; they have dichromatic vision, meaning their eyes contain two types of cone cells for color perception, unlike the three found in humans. This physiological difference means deer primarily perceive colors within the blue and yellow. By comprehending what colors deer can see, you, as a hunter or wildlife enthusiast, can make informed decisions about clothing, gear, and how to effectively blend into their habitats.
How Deer Perceive Specific Colors Deer perceive colors differently than humans, particularly red and orange. Lacking the cone cell sensitive to long-wavelength red light, deer see these colors as muted shades of gray, brown, or yellowish-gray. What appears as bright hunter orange to a human eye is seen as a duller, less conspicuous color by a deer.
The Spectrum of Deer Vision Deer have a vision which is different from us humans. While we can see a range of colors from 3 primary colors (red, blue and green), deer can only see 2 types of color receptors. Blue shades appear to be their weakness, as their eyes can't detect objects or movement in the blue spectrum.
This matters. The Colors Deer See Building upon their dichromatic vision, deer distinguish colors primarily in the blue and yellow spectrums. They are particularly sensitive to blue-spectrum light, seeing blues and violets with greater intensity than humans.
Reds and oranges, which humans perceive vividly, appear to deer as shades of gray or yellow. Deer eyes are located on the sides of their heads, providing a wide field of view, 300 to 310 degrees, helping them detect movement from various directions. What Colors Deer See Deer possess dichromatic vision, with two types of cone cells, unlike humans' three.
This allows deer to perceive colors primarily in the blue and yellow spectrum. The deer's retina contains 20 times more rods (which enable low-light vision), than cones (which enable color vision). In low-light or dark conditions, rods dominate the deer's vision, restricting its ability to detect colors.