It has always surprised me how many species of birds have no compunction about flying so low over the water that their wings will often touch. It is one of the ways you learn to almost instantly recognize the species you are looking at. Within a second you go down a mental list - color, pattern, body size, flight characteristics, etc. - to identify the bird. One of the things I don't like about filming kingfishers is the little white spot in front of their eye. It makes it appear as though the eye has been blown out - then you realize it isn't even the eye you are looking at. But, scientists believe kingfishers, when about to dive, use the two white spots in front of the eyes as sighting devices along the line of the bill to fix their prey and, by doing so, possibly to correct for the refraction of water.
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