The bald eagle is an incredible creature, not just for its beauty, but also because of its astonishing eyesight capabilities.
Experts estimate that the bald eagle’s eyesight is eight times better than that of a human being. The bird’s vision gets a significant boost from the nerve density in the retina at the back of the eye. Bald eagles have five times more nerves than a human does, which means their eyes transfer more detailed images to the brain for processing.
This eyesight is particularly useful during hunting. Bald eagles can see fish swimming just beneath the surface of a body of water, enabling them to swoop down and capture their prey. They can even see in the ultraviolet light spectrum, which is something humans can’t do.
Another advantage the bald eagle possesses is the ability to keep its head completely still during motion. Much like a gimbal, extraneous vertebrae enable the head to pivot more freely; this allows the eyes to maintain a constant visual on prey below, even during complex flight maneuvers such as dives.