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Owl eyes: Accommodation, corneal curvature and refractive state

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Summary

The eyes of 15 species of owls were examined by retinoscopy, static photorefraction, dynamic photorefraction and keratometry. Eyes of all species were found to be of high optical quality as indicated by crisp retinoscopic reflexes and to be relatively free of any form of astigmatism. In contradiction to the traditional view of owl accommodation, we found that species differed widely with regard to their ability to focus near targets. Virtually all species could focus distant targets, but the ability to focus targets closer than one meter was significantly correlated with small body size. The accuracy and validity of the dynamic photorefractive method were determined by measurements on an artificial eye.

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Murphy, C.J., Howland, H.C. Owl eyes: Accommodation, corneal curvature and refractive state. J. Comp. Physiol. 151, 277–284 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00623904

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