Birds With Red Eyes

Red eyes can naturally occur in birds for a few reasons. Certain scientists hypothesized that the red color of their irises comes from the presence of carotenoids which may help these birds see better over long distances. Others believe that certain birds have low melanin levels making their blood vessels more visible, giving their eyes a red hue.

Some birds with natural red eyes include ducks, grebes, and kites.

List of Birds That Have Red Eyes

• American Coot
• Asian Glossy Starling
• Asian Green Bee-eater
• Asian Koel
• Australian Magpie
• Black Rail
• Black-crowned Night Heron
• Black-necked Grebe
• Black-shouldered Kite
• Black-winged Kite
• Bronzed Cowbird
• Canvasback
• Chestnut Teal
• Cinnamon Teal
• Clark’s Grebe
• Common Loon
• Common Pochard
• Cooper’s Hawk
• Eared Grebe
• Eastern Towhee
• Eurasian Oystercatcher
• Gray-headed Swamphen
• Great Crested Grebe
• Greater Coucal
• Horned Grebe
• Killdeer
• Long-tailed Cormorant
• Metallic Starling
• Pacific Loon
• Papuan Frogmouth
• Phainopepla
• Red Wattlebird
• Red-breasted Merganser
• Red-crested Pochard
• Red-eyed Vireo
• Red-throated Loon
• Roseate Spoonbill
• Rosy-billed Pochard
• Sardinian Warbler
• Sharp-shinned Hawk
• Slaty-breasted Wood-Rail
• Snail Kite
• Southern Lapwing
• Spotted Towhee
• Variable Oystercatcher
• Western Grebe
• White-tailed Kite
• White-winged Chough
• White-winged Dove
• Wood Duck
• Yellow-crowned Night-heron
• Yellow-green Vireo
• Zebra Finch