I was recently lucky enough to see my first dipper in the flesh - a beautiful little bird. It was standing on a large stone in the middle of a shallow, fairly fast flowing river. I had a good view of it and it seemed to blink a lot with what looked like white / pale eyelids. Can anyone confirm this? Is there any reason why:
a) it was blinking a lot
b) their eyelids are the colour they are
Cheers
Hi snathdag,
All species of Dipper have white surfaces to the eyelids, conspicuous when the eyes are blinking.
A characteristic activity of a perched dipper is a rapid series of bowing movements, which in whitechested species emphasizes that feature; bowing, or, "dipping," becomes more frequent and intense when birds are agitated or during territorial disputes. Dippers also blink rapidly, showing the white upper surface of the eyelid.
One of many photo's that I took of a pair nesting.
Hope I have answered your questions.
Regards Buzzard
Nature Is Amazing - Let Us Keep It That Way
Yes they do indeed have white eyelids! As for why, not sure! Someone more knowledgeable will answer I'm sure! :-)
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
Here's a pic I got with the eyelid just closing!
Hi,
most species of Dipper have a NIctitating Eye Membrane, an extra eyelid to help them see underwater and protect their eyes :)
S
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> All species of Dipper have white surfaces to the eyelids, conspicuous when the eyes are blinking.
Thanks for the answer and the great photo, and to you too MarJus (by the way, I see "your" dipper's ringed, do you have any information on it?)
Hi all,
As far as I know, all birds posess a nictitating membrane. I've tried to check this, but can't find any reference that states otherwise (if anyone knows of one, I'd be very interested).
Perhaps more Interestingly, dippers have evolved no specialised adaptations for an aquatic lifestyle.
Cheers all,
MC:-)
snathdag said: by the way, I see "your" dipper's ringed, do you have any information on it?
by the way, I see "your" dipper's ringed, do you have any information on it?
Unfortunately it isn't possible to see what is on the ring. I did notice though that the pair had a ring on different legs! So I knew there were two there!