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When preening, a bird (such as this red lory) draws individual feathers through its beak, realigning and re-interlocking the barbules.. Preening is a maintenance behaviour found in birds that involves the use of the beak to position feathers, interlock feather barbules that have become separated, clean plumage, and keep ectoparasites in check.
Allowing particulates to accumulate on feathers also creates the need for cleaning which can put fragile feathers at risk for physical damage. [15] In addition, particulates can cause the relative humidity around the feather to rise. This rise in humidity and the resulting addition of moisture can accelerate the deterioration of the feather. [2]
Male and Female house sparrows dust bathing. Birds crouch close to the ground while taking a dust bath, vigorously wriggling their bodies and flapping their wings. This disperses loose substrate into the air. The birds spread one or both wings which allows the falling substrate to fall between the feathers and reach the skin.
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A black drongo in a typical anting posture. Anting is a maintenance behavior during which birds rub insects, usually ants, on their feathers and skin.The bird may pick up the insects in its bill and rub them on the body (active anting), or the bird may lie in an area of high density of the insects and perform dust bathing-like movements (passive anting).
Feather holes often characteristically occur on wing and tail feathers of some small-bodied species of passerines. In the case of barn swallows , it was suggested that the holes were feeding traces of avian lice , either Machaerilaemus malleus and/or Myrsidea rustica (both Phthiraptera : Amblycera ).
The sand martin is sociable in its nesting habits; from a dozen to many hundred pairs will nest close together, according to available space. The nests are at the end of tunnels ranging from a few inches to three or four feet in length, bored in sand or gravel. The actual nest is a litter of straw and feathers in a chamber at the end of the ...
The black-capped chickadee nests in tree cavities 1–7 m (3–23 ft) above ground. [11] The pair either excavates the hole together, uses a natural cavity, or reuses an old woodpecker nest. This species will also nest in a nest box. Nest sites are typically chosen by females, but excavation of the cavity is done by both sexes.