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View Full Version : What is up with this Owl's eye?



John Hawkins
03-14-2009, 05:50 PM
John, Fabs suggested I post this eye from the Owl I posted earlier in the Avian Forum. Something seems amiss with the eye. Thanks, John

Daniel Cadieux
03-14-2009, 05:59 PM
Is that from the pair behind the baseball field? I was there in February and noticed they had those "marble" eyes instead of the yellow ones. Don't know the reason, but looks cool IMO.

Doug Hitchcox
03-14-2009, 11:07 PM
Was it a young bird? Check out Sibley's "Florida Fledgling" (Feb-Sep)... it shows a funky dark eye pattern, so thats my guess

John Hawkins
03-15-2009, 01:54 PM
No. This is an adult

Steve Maxson
03-17-2009, 01:08 PM
I don't know what is causing this effect in the eye, but here is another burrowing owl image that I posted in the Avian forum about a year ago. If anyone has an explanation, I too would like to hear it. (This was an adult bird paired with a normal-looking owl.)

John Chardine
03-17-2009, 07:28 PM
Really interesting. Artie has just posted a similar looking bird (eyes that is) in his latest bulletin.

Ed Cordes
03-18-2009, 08:38 PM
When I have human patients with this effect we call them iris freckles. It is just more pigment showing through in spots. Pretty much normal in humans - I don't know about owls.

Doug Hitchcox
03-19-2009, 07:41 AM
Athene cunicularia floridana is the subspecies of Burrowing Owls found in Florida and the Bahamas... the best I can find states "Yellow eyes (irises) are most common; but chocolate or olive irises have been documented." So I am going to assume this is just a rare trait that occurs in this subspecies, maybe just a different 'morph.'