occasional
Well-known member
I have taken the question from another thread - can cats and dogs see through glass ?
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Can cats and dogs see through glass ? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter occasional
- Start date
Ashley beolens
Breeding the next generation of birders.
Yes
My cats certainly can!
And my dog.
TheBirdGarden
I don't have the money
Yep
Capercaillie71
Well-known member
Yes, my cats certainly can. They get very excited if they see a small fluttering bird just on the other side!
occasional
Well-known member
That looks fairly clear.
Would anyone care to add further species ?
I would suggest that hooded crows can see through, whereas pine martens cannot.
Would anyone care to add further species ?
I would suggest that hooded crows can see through, whereas pine martens cannot.
David FG
The Big Dipper
I don't know absolutely for certain, but I would think that all species that have eyes structured even roughly like ours can see through glass. It is transparent after all.
Birds certainly can - which is why they so frequently crash into it, as, I very strongly suspect, can all vertebrates (at the very least): fish can definitely see through it.
Gill Osborne
Well-known member
Oh yes - my Suzi spends hours watching the blue tits winding her up as they sit just feet away on the sky dish :-O
She is also a big fan of wildlife programmes and can definitely hear & see birds, small mammals etc.....and, as in pic 3, she was fascinated by One Man & His Dog the other week! :-O
She is also a big fan of wildlife programmes and can definitely hear & see birds, small mammals etc.....and, as in pic 3, she was fascinated by One Man & His Dog the other week! :-O
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occasional
Well-known member
David FG,
I suspect that it is a lot more complicated than you suggest and needs to be defined almost down to species level.
Glass is not necessarily transparent to UV light, and so being able to see through glass is a function of how sensitive (or insensitive) the eyes are to UV light, and apparently there is evidence that some birds see UV light.
I , for example, have seen no evidence that foxes can see through my windows.
O (simplyfying matters as if UV were a single frequency)
I suspect that it is a lot more complicated than you suggest and needs to be defined almost down to species level.
Glass is not necessarily transparent to UV light, and so being able to see through glass is a function of how sensitive (or insensitive) the eyes are to UV light, and apparently there is evidence that some birds see UV light.
I , for example, have seen no evidence that foxes can see through my windows.
O (simplyfying matters as if UV were a single frequency)
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birdboybowley
Well-known member.....apparently so ;)
Foxes can see through mine because if I move closer to the window it either freezes in the middle of the lawn or bolts for it. Same with all birds in the garden, if you move too close to the window, they fly. As for my dogs they go beserk when they see the fox or a cat down the end of the garden!
I would agree with David FG - every animal that I have had reason to observe regarding reaction to window has clearly been able to see through it - birds, mammals both.
TheBirdGarden
I don't have the money
do you actually mean see through windows or do they notice the glass is there? because i have reptiles that can't get their head around an object being see through
David FG
The Big Dipper
Which might be true if birds or anything else could see ONLY UV light. As it is they can also see much the same range of light as us PLUS some we can't.
To use an analogy, my young daughter can hear sounds I can't. It doesn't follow that she can't hear sounds I can. It's not either/or: she simply hears over a greater range than I do. Similarly, animals that can see things we can't don't become blind to things we can. They simply have a bigger range.
Why must it be at species level? If a whole range of species have what is essentially the same structure, it is a very reasonable assumption that it works in the same way. The vertebrate eye has a common origin, after all. Domestic dogs can most certainly see through glass, so why would not foxes, wolves and other canids? Domestic cats can, so why wouldn't other cats? I don't believe there is anything different in any significant way between the eyes of species in these groups.
They certainly do however appreciate the glass is there and understand it is a barrier - I have a Crested Tit that feeds at my feeder on the kitchen window. It will happily feed eve if I am just 5 cm from the glass (outside it generally lets me get only about a metre away), but if the cat sits in the same position, the bird moves in much more cautiously.
David FG
The Big Dipper
Up to a point, yes, I'm sure you are right - after all, even the best glass isn't completely 'invisible' so birds (and other animals) are certainly aware that something is there, but perhaps your Crested Tit has just learned that you are no threat if you are in one place (which just happens to be behind the glass).
The fact that it won't let your cat do the same might indicate that the bird hasn't quite worked out the idea that glass is a barrier.
occasional
Well-known member
Which might be true if birds or anything else could see ONLY UV light. As it is they can also see much the same range of light as us PLUS some we can't.
I suspect that this analysis is incorrect. If glass is not transparent to UV light then to an animal that is sensitive to UV light the glass is likely to appear to that animal as a solid object of UV colour.
Why must it be at species level? If a whole range of species have what is essentially the same structure, it is a very reasonable assumption that it works in the same way. The vertebrate eye has a common origin, after all. Domestic dogs can most certainly see through glass, so why would not foxes, wolves and other canids? Domestic cats can, so why wouldn't other cats? I don't believe there is anything different in any significant way between the eyes of species in these groups.
Because I can sit three feet from a fox and wave at it without eliciting any reaction - as long as I am behind a window. And we appear to have established that dogs can see through windows.
It could of course be a function of the glass in the window.
I suspect that this analysis is incorrect. If glass is not transparent to UV light then to an animal that is sensitive to UV light the glass is likely to appear to that animal as a solid object of UV colour.
Why must it be at species level? If a whole range of species have what is essentially the same structure, it is a very reasonable assumption that it works in the same way. The vertebrate eye has a common origin, after all. Domestic dogs can most certainly see through glass, so why would not foxes, wolves and other canids? Domestic cats can, so why wouldn't other cats? I don't believe there is anything different in any significant way between the eyes of species in these groups.
Because I can sit three feet from a fox and wave at it without eliciting any reaction - as long as I am behind a window. And we appear to have established that dogs can see through windows.
It could of course be a function of the glass in the window.
Maybe it associates you behind a window as a non=threat - foxes beside my cabin certainly do see me through glass, the slightest movement seeing them run off (deer too).
David FG
The Big Dipper
We appear also to have established that in the experience of other members (and me, I might add) that foxes and other mammals can certainly see through glass.
Perhaps you have unusually brave or nonchalant foxes.
occasional
Well-known member
Maybe it associates you behind a window as a non=threat
No reason to suppose this is the case - the fox is not a regular visitor.
(deer too).
And I am inclined to think that deer can see through my windows.
I am reduced to thinking that my window glass is different from yours, although that seems to be a very unsatisfactory explanation.
Would anyone that finds an animal that clearly cannot see through window glass please post to this thread.
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No reason to suppose this is the case - the fox is not a regular visitor.
(deer too).
And I am inclined to think that deer can see through my windows.
I am reduced to thinking that my window glass is different from yours, although that seems to be a very unsatisfactory explanation.
Would anyone that finds an animal that clearly cannot see through window glass please post to this thread.
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