If you want to attract or distract wildlife into your yard, one of the ways is through color. Although Hummingbirds love pink and red, bluebirds blue prefer blue. But what about squirrels? Can squirrels see color? The answer is yes, but with squirrels, there is a catch. They have dichromatic vision.
Are squirrels color blind?
Being color blind does not necessarily mean you can’t see colors. There are several different types of colorblindness, with dichromatic vision being one. So, yes, squirrels are color blind.
The National Eye Institute Https://www.nei.nih.gov/ categorizes colorblindness into three groups
- Red-green color blindness makes it difficult to distinguish between red and green.
- Blue-yellow color blindness makes it difficult to distinguish between blue and yellow.
- Complete colorblindness, where you can’t see colors at all.
Dichromatic vision is the most common type of color blindness in humans and falls into the Red-green category making greens look redder to squirrels.
What colors can squirrels see?
Dichromatic vision does not mean squirrels can not see blue, pink, orange, or any color of the rainbow. It only means the color green hues look more red. While for most would be hardly a cause for panic,
squirrels may feel differently. Their number one enemy is the red-headed woodpecker. Red-headed woodpeckers will vehemently defend their territory from squirrels and have been known to go as far as to peck at the squirrel trying to intrude. Therefore, given a squirrel’s habitat, having greens take on a red hue may be problematic.
If you want to deter squirrels from your yard, you may wish to add some red birdfeeders, planters, etc.
On the other hand, if you enjoy watching squirrels play and scurry around your yard and wish to attract them – they love bright colors. Fill your yard with bright yellow, blues, pink, orange, etc. You can add color with plants and patio furniture, fountains, wind chimes, planters, or anything else you wish to put in your yard.
Other Animals
Many animals besides squirrels are believed to have complete color blindness – cats, dogs, and even horses. In every case, this myth is busted. Like squirrels, they are – dichromatic. The myth was proven incorrect simply through testing the eye’s cell cones. There are three types of cell cones –
- Red-sensing cones
- Green-sensing cones
skate fish - Blue-sensing cones
Missing one of these cone types results in color blindness. Squirrels, dogs, and cats only have two cones. Only one animal has been proven to be completely color blind or has none of the three cell cones – a skate fish.
While a skate fish may be unusual, the butterfly is unique on the other end of the spectrum. It has the ability to see more colors than humans.
Humans vs. Animals
Color blindness can be found in humans the same way it can in squirrels. While it’s usually genetic, it has several causes, including injury or aging. With humans, there is a slight possibility of four cone types called tetrachromacy. The percentage is low, approximately 1.36% of the world’s population. The condition is due to a mutation and is found only in women.
To find out if you’re color blind, you can take a simple test. Just click the link below, and you’ll have your answer within moments.