Owlet Nightjars and lack of eye shine

["Alan Gillanders" <>]

Colin et al,

Do not have a trick for finding them but have seen one fairly frequently
during spotlighting for tree-kangaroos in the last few months. Before that,
only once in 26 years of the same activity.

Could some one tell me why this bird's eye is so dull. With the spotlight on
it and viewed through binoculars the eye looks 'dead.' Nocturnal mammals
have the tapetum lucidum (? spelling?) which is highly reflective. This does
not seem to have an analogous part in nocturnal birds.
It is for the sake of this question that I have changed the subject line.

Regards,
Alan