Eye color is a polygenic phenotypic character and is determined by the amount and type

of pigments in the eye's iris.[1][2] Humans and other animals have many phenotypic
variations in eye color, as blue, brown, gray, green, and others. These variations
constitute phenotypic traits.[3]

The genetics of eye color are complicated, and color is determined by multiple genes.
Some of the eye-color genes include EYCL1 (a green/blue eye-color gene located on
chromosome 19), EYCL2 (a brown eye-color gene) and EYCL3 (a brown/blue eye-color
gene located on chromosome 15). The once-held view that blue eye color is a simple
recessive trait has been shown to be wrong. The genetics of eye color are so complex that
almost any parent-child combination of eye colors can occur.[4][5]

In human eyes, these variations in color are attributed to varying ratios of eumelanin
produced by melanocytes in the iris.[2] The brightly colored eyes of many bird species are
largely determined by other pigments, such as pteridines, purines, and carotenoids.[6]

Three main elements within the iris contribute to its color: the melanin content of the iris
pigment epithelium, the melanin content within the iris stroma, and the cellular density of
the iris stroma.[7] In eyes of all colors, the iris pigment epithelium contains the black
pigment, eumelanin.[2][7] Color variations among different irides are typically attributed to
the melanin content within the iris stroma.[7] The density of cells within the stroma affects
how much light is absorbed by the underlying pigment epithelium.[7] OCA2 gene
polymorphism, close to proximal 5′ regulatory region, explains most human eye-color
variation.[8]