True or False: Owls have large eyes for daytime vision.

True or False: Owls have large eyes for daytime vision.

• A. False
• B. True
• C. Ambiguous
• D. Cannot be determined

Answer: (A)

Owls’ eye size is tied to seeing in low light. Their eyes are large to gather as many photons as possible, which makes their night vision exceptionally good for hunting in the dark. That daytime emphasis is not what the large eyes are optimized for. In daytime, their vision isn’t specially improved by the size of the eyes; what they’re famous for is the ability to see well at night. Also, their eyes are fixed in their sockets, so they rely on turning their head to look around rather than moving their eyes. So the statement about large eyes for daytime vision isn’t accurate.