I should have noted that Western and Clark's Grebes have red eyes (described as scarlet in Bird of North America online)as shown in this pic. One of the regular blog readers mistook this for the artificial "red eye" sometimes caused by photography.

Additionally, both Eared and Horned Grebes also have red/scarlet irises. Many birds have eyes of various colors including yellow, white and black as well as red.

I have run into the problem of photographically induced "red eye" when taking pictures of owls with a flash. It is also a common problem when photographing dogs. But the red eyes on all the Western and Clark's Grebes pics here come naturally. You can get a real close-up view of the eyes by double-clicking on this pic. SeEtta