Error rate of axons at the owl's optic chiasm.

Background: In owls, the visual pathways from the retina are totally crossed. Attempts to find ganglion cells with uncrossed axons have failed consistently, when retrograde labeling with HRP is used for their identification. In the present investigation we have used retrograde fluorescent tracers of complementary colour in each optic tectum to demonstrate a tiny population of ipsilaterally-projecting retinal ganglion cells in the owl.