Bird's Eye (Figure)

Bird's eye is a figure pattern of small, swirling, eye-like dots scattered across a board's face, caused by tiny, localized distortions in the grain -- the exact biological trigger isn't fully settled, though it's most strongly associated with (and most famous in) hard maple, giving "bird's eye maple" its name as a specific, premium-priced figure grade rather than a separate species. Like other figure types (curl, quilt, burl), bird's eye figure is unpredictable and can't be reliably grown or selected for -- it's identified log by log, or board by board, once cut.