From Ojai Raptor Center

This Great Horned Owl came to us with a head injury and a strikingly green eye, which can sometimes happen after trauma.

Head trauma, particularly from incidents like being struck by a vehicle, can cause a great horned owl’s eye to turn bright green due to internal hemorrhaging (bleeding) and the subsequent diffusion of blood within the eye.

This phenomenon is similar to how a bruise on human skin changes color as it heals. The bright green color is generally temporary, lasting a day or two, or sometimes up to two weeks, as medications and healing, often including the use of serum eye drops, work to reduce inflammation and restore the normal eye color.

While this is often the result of trauma, some cases of unusual eye coloring in owls have also been linked to secondary rodenticide (rat poison) poisoning.

However, the brilliant green shift in an otherwise yellow- eyed species is most commonly reported as a metabolic reaction to ocular trauma and hemorrhaging. In this owl’s case, the green discoloration resolved on its own in about a week.