Ostrich Ocular Optics

2001/01/01 by Graham R. Martin, Udi Ashash, Gadi Katzir · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Animal Nutrition and Physiology #Avian ecology and behavior

paper · doi:10.1159/000047265

openalex publication_date 2001/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11

Abstract

The optical structure of the eyes of ostriches (Struthio camelus; Struthionidae; Struthioniformes) was determined by the construction of a schematic eye model for paraxial optics. The eye is large (axial length = 38 mm) and of globose shape with an anterior focal length (posterior nodal distance) of 21.8 mm. The optical design of the eye is such that the lens and cornea contribute equally to its total optical power. Interspecific comparison shows that optically the ostrich eye is a larger scaled version of the eyes of common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and an owl (Strix aluco).

Citations

• Visual Fields in Short-Toed Eagles, <i>Circaetus gallicus</i> (Accipitridae), and the Function of Binocularity in Birds
• Spatial visual acuity of the eagle Aquila audax: a behavioural, optical and anatomical investigation
• Sun Shades and Eye Size in Birds
• An owl's eye: Schematic optics and visual performance inStrix aluco L.
• The Eye of a Procellariiform Seabird, the Manx Shearwater, Puffinus puffinus: Visual Fields and Optical Structure
• A schematic eye for the rat

Cited by

• Common ostrich [wikipedia]