Eye colour in Owls seems to be limited to yellow,orangeish and 'dark' and it has been postulated that colour is some how linked to their feeding habits.Generally speaking, Owls with yellow eyes tend to spend at least some proportion of their time feeding diurnally and most Owls with dark eyes are strictly nocturnal hunters. The obvious rule breaker here is Barn Owl , which has dark eyes and is often seen feeding during the day.Owls with orange coloured eyes tend to be crepuscular in their habits.
I am not aware of Eurasian Eagle Owl ever having yellow eyes, but given the widespread distribution of this species, the various races and lack of information on all ages & plumages I cannot rule it out entirely- but I have never seen any documentation of this.Eye and leg colour are often misrepresented in museum specimens and eye colour may change with age.The exact determination of iris colour and the function of having different iris colour is at best speculative.
E
P.S. I'm in the Fish Owl camp
[ Last edited by EricB at 14/10/2011 07:29 ]
