Their eyes reflect a bright gleaming eyeshine. In the bird world, the Nightjar’s
show an orange-red eyeshine, the Chuck-will’s Widow eyes show pink or orange eyeshine.The Bobcat, Domestic cat, and so many more species display bright eyeshine giving the avid birdwatcher a hint of their whereabouts in the night sky.
The majority of these glowing eyes belong to mammals, but spiders, alligators, and bullfrogs are a few other creatures with reflecting eyes. Some night birds also have eyes that glow in the dark, but their eyes do not have a tapetum layer. Scientists are still trying to solve the mystery of their source of eyeshine.
Animals that display the brightest eyeshine are nocturnal having more rods (light receptors) and fewer cones (color receptors) in their retinas than animals with no eyeshine at all. As a result, they have excellent night vision, but most are color-blind.
(My source, https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/nonpwdpubs/young_naturalist/animals/eyeshine/).
Once again, My Virginia grandsons have provided me with these facts about hard to spot birds in the night time forests.
Our extended family is still on a high after our second youngest grandson celebrated his bar mitzvah this past weekend.
I did not encounter the animal-like eyeshine on those days, but I did see “eye shine” in the orbs of our family members and the bar mitzvah boy himself. The thrill, the pride, the love and the joy were reflected in the eyes and hearts of all of the attendees.
Corey’s Drash (interpretation of his Torah reading) inspired us and presented us with thoughts above and beyond the scope of the average 13 year old. He did it with well researched facts, in his own words and with great humor. This blog will stay short and sweet, in keeping with my Message in a Minute title, but only because I am still ingesting the wonderful event (simcha) and seeing our fabulous family members and dear friends.
Further, in my brief research, I have learned that a band calling themselves EYESHINE has reached stardome. A band, based in Los Angeles, and calling itself Eyeshine first found success in 2006 with a unique blend of pop punk and post grunge, a genre called edge rock. Eye Shine, two little words, so much nuance and meaning. May your eyes shine in the joy of life.
Eyeshine is an American underground rock band formed in 2004 by front man Johnny Yong Bosch
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/nonpwdpubs/young_naturalist/animals/eyeshine/
Animals that display the brightest eyeshine, such as the bobcat, have more rods (light receptors) and fewer cones (color receptors) in their retinas than animals with no eyeshine. As a result, they have excellent night vision, but most are color-blind.
The majority of animals displaying eyeshine also are nocturnal animals.
CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW Caprimulgus carolinensis A big brown nightjar of … Like other nightjars, shows pink or orange eye–shine in headlight beams at night.
