This review proposes a five-window framework ('timescape') for studying the temporal structure of non-human animal experience, drawing on neuroscience, ethology, and phenomenology. The five windows are: synchronisation, revision (postdiction), perceptual persistence, attention, and perceptual stability — each assessed via temporal illusions and behavioural paradigms across >20 species.
Cross-species comparisons reveal meaningful variation in all five temporal windows. Key examples include: flash-lag illusion latency is smaller in macaques than humans (~20–30 ms vs. ~30–50 ms); apparent motion upper bound is ~3× longer in mice than humans (250–430 ms vs. 80–150 ms); attentional blink lasts longer in macaques (300–700 ms) than humans (200–500 ms); perceptual stability dwell times are longer in *Drosophila* (~2–20 s) than humans (~3–5 s); and change blindness occurs in pigeons at gaps as brief as 7 ms vs. 80–150 ms in humans.
All cross-species comparisons risk confounds from differences in stimuli and experimental design tailored per species. Evidence base is largely indirect (neural latency data rather than behavioural illusion data) for several species. The framework does not yet address non-visual or interoceptive temporal dimensions.
This framework is not directly clinically actionable, but has applied relevance: understanding species-specific temporal windows could guide design of animal alarm systems, reduce wildlife collisions with infrastructure (e.g., wind turbines), and improve captive animal welfare by optimising artificial lighting flicker rates.
