Nicitating Membrane?
When looking at American Dippers I often saw the birds displaying what I thought was a white nictitating membrane. These are extra eyelids that many animals, including dippers have. Some are clear and some opaque. But to me this “membrane” looks pretty rough. After doing some research I realized that they actually have white eyelids. And this is what many observers mistake for nictitating membranes. When the eye is open the white feathers dissapear, or are only partly visible. The actual nictitating membrane is clear and only observable at close range.
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