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<\/p>\nSince the eyelids of birds aren’t used in blinking we don’t get to see them very often.<\/p>\n
In birds the eye is lubricated by the translucent nictitating membrane, sometimes called the third eyelid, that sweeps horizontally across the eye so their true eyelids usually remain open and unseen. When they’re sleeping the lower eyelid rises to cover the eye in most birds, with the exception of the horned owls whose upper eyelid is lowered.<\/p>\n
Usually, when they’re performing activities that could potentially injure their eye, it’s their nictitating membrane that is temporarily closed but they’re capable of raising their lower eyelid instead. When that happens it can be disconcerting to the observer because it looks so unusual and we’re not used to seeing it.<\/p>\n
But this Swainson’s Hawk gave me a good, long look at ‘his’ closed lower eyelid.<\/p>\n
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I spent a lot of time with him on three different perches but he was nearly always facing to my right so I seldom got a good look at his left eye. I’m only including this photo because his head turn allows us to see his left eye and determine that it’s ‘normal’ and almost certainly uninjured.<\/p>\n
Soon after this photo was taken he…<\/p>\n
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flew to another fence post because a passing truck scared him off his previous perch. After he relaxed again he…<\/p>\n
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began to preen his tail feathers and as he did so he raised his lower eyelid instead of closing his nictitating membrane as they usually do to protect their eye.<\/p>\n
It looks pretty weird doesn’t it.<\/p>\n
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As he preened his tail feathers he kept it closed long enough for me to get quite a few photos of it.<\/p>\n
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The outside of the eyelid is covered with tiny feathers, white feathers in the case of Swainson’s Hawks, so when the eyelid is closed it really stands out.<\/p>\n
Most often I see the lower eyelid closed when that eye is injured but I’m almost certain that his eye wasn’t injured. For some reason he just chose to close it, instead of his nictitating membrane, while preening.<\/p>\n
Whatever his motivation I thought it was interesting to see, especially for so long.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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Note: The colors of the hawk in the first photo look richer than the colors in the rest of the photos because the first photo was taken with a different camera and lens and the light was different while the bird was on one perch compared to the other.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Since the eyelids of birds aren’t used in blinking we don’t get to see them very often.<\/p>\n