if bird feathers are hydrophobic, how do they clean themselves in bird baths?
In: 6
the feathers themselves are not hydrophobic, they are coated in an oil produced by the bird thru an organ known as a “preen gland”(generally situatued in the bird’s lower back near the tail?).
the bird will groom itself by poking at the excretions of this gland and coat its feather in it, this oil is what makes their feathers impermeable(whiel also cleaning said feathers from debris). This is also why certain pollutents are so devastating for birds, they can compromise this coat(by being difficult to remove by the bird) and therefore compromise the water resistance of their feathera which in turn makes flight and thermal regulation harder if not outright impossible.
Latest Answers