The Hunter's Gaze: Scanning, Then Pouncing

In comparing peripheral and foveal sight, it might help to think of a hunter's tracking: scanning, soft, ready but not pouncing—peripheral. Attuned to movement. And then, ping! The hunter sees the deer and aligns their eyeballs so they pinch in on that bit of brown among the trees with absolute, critical precision, from the fovea at the center back. It isn't quite the same as simply "focusing in," though that happens too. When the hunter switches from scanning to pouncing, they use a different part of the eyeball. That involves swiveling, so that the desired precision is called forth. These two states have very different mood signatures. (Also, apply this distinction to being prey and how a vulnerable creature might want to scan for danger.)