Richard Moore Outdoor Report: The Eyes Have It

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The gleaming yellow-gold eyes of a bobcat reflect late afternoon light as the thirsty cat laps tepid water.

It is this life shine in a creature’s eye that gives us pause, a dramatic glimpse into the feral perfection of the natural world and the fascinating creatures that inhabit it. 

South Texas birds exhibit a variety of eye colors from the bright orange of the curve-billed thrasher to the beautiful blue eyes of the ibis. 

A bird’s iris includes millions of pigment cells and contains a variety of compounds including melanin and other substances that work in combination through reflection, refraction, and scattering to give each bird its unique eye color. 

The Cooper’s hawks fierce gaze gleams a reddish hue, and like many birds of prey, they can see some eight times as well as man.  It has been said, that if a hawk could read, it would be able to read a newspaper from seven stories high. 

White-tailed deer have some of the most enchanting eyes in nature. They are big, round, and dark brown with long lashes, and they don’t miss much in the way of movement. 

Cottontail rabbits have exceptionally alert eyes, and even as they slake their thirst they are scanning for danger as there might be a predator lurking nearby.

What wonders the gleaming eyes of the Peregrine falcon have gazed upon on their monumental 5,000-mile migratory journey. 

The mesmerizing stare of a rare ocelot draws you into that essential wildness that reminds us we are not apart from nature but a part of nature. 

The unsurpassed joy and affection reflected in the eyes of this pair of bonded Red-crowned parrots so eloquently express the spirit of being fully alive, wild, and free.