View allAll Photos Tagged preening
On a day with nothing particular to do, and out of ideas - a random click with ferns growing in the wilderness.
(no dirty comments please)
I'm sure other fat ferrets probably clean themselves this way. It's funny how their feet stick up in the air while they preen their tail and feet. Then they put their front paws on their tummy and just stare at you like:
"What?!...don't you have better things to do than watch me chew on my toenails?!"
Eliza and Starscream never sat like this since they weren't fat.
The Oxpecker does a great service cleaning the Rhino of pests such as ticks and bugs while the White Rhino who has had his horn cut to make it less appealing to poachers munches on some grass. Pilansberg Game Reserve
Nuptial plumage takes some upkeep. The egret would take each long feather and pull through it with its bill, like a comb.
Snowy Egret, Pismo Creek, Pismo Beach, California
Both the cockroach and the bird would get along very well without us, although the cockroach would miss us most.
Joseph Wood Krutc
Little Dipper Hideaway Campground
Westbridge, BC
I've been receiving Flickr Mail from several people asking how my recovery is coming along after my second surgery.
Here is the update:
My incisions and bones have completely healed now. My ankle feels much better without the hardware and has improved my movement. I'm continuing with my physiotherapy once a week, as well as daily stretching and strengthening exercises at home. I've been getting out and walking several times a week; I'm up to 3km before it starts to get too sore and I have to get off my feet. I've also been doing some short walks through the parks with my camera and getting some camping in.
I have to wear shoes with heal lifts at all times to walk without a limp, and I still have a lot of physiotherapy ahead of me to improve my mobility issues. Essentially, it's the soft tissue damage and scar tissue build up that has been affecting my mobility.
One day I will frolic in the grass bare foot and pain free :)
The Great Egret was sitting high up on a tree branch busily preening...until he saw me approach. He sat there and gave me a shifty eyed glance, looking as though he was thinking of something nasty to do to that pesky photographer. Wildwood Park, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Mating pair preening each other after 1 has just arrived back at the nest on the heronry with fish for young in the nest...YSP, UK
I was fascinated by this bird's preening, because, in the process, its beautifully colorful feathers were put on display.
Often confused with a Red Macaw, the Green-Winged is mostly red with blue and green wings, a blue tail and grey legs. Its face is white and striped with small red feathers; the upper beak is whitish and the lower beak is black. One of the largest Macaws, it can grow to 3 feet in length and 3-1/2 pounds in weight.
This bird is found primarily in the tropical forests and swamps of Central and South America, including Columbia, Panama, Venezuela, Guyana and Trinidad.
As with other species, these birds are threatened by the illegal bird trade and habitat destruction.
Also Click "L"
Glossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellus
Green Cay Wetlands
Florida
2014:01:09 12:14:04
Pentax K5 - Pentax 50-135mm
135mm
202mm (in 35mm film)
1/200 sec, f/8
Metering: Multi-segment
ISO: 1600
In their free time, when they are not feeding, the birds scratch their bodies with their beaks as though they have itching problem. Such combing action is called as preening of feathers.
The birds can have up to 25,000 feathers that cover their bodies, to fly in air while also protecting the skin and in thermoregulation. The beaks are passed from the base of each feather to the tip unhooking the locks in the barbs and aligning them again. This maintains their aerodynamic shape, as well as ensures waterproofing and thermal insulation.
Birds come into contact with ground and water and can easily become infested with parasites like lice and mites that are harmful to the health of the birds. Preening removes all foreign creatures from the body, while also providing a snack to the insectivorous birds.
The old, loose and molten feathers are banished in the process, as birds pluck and throw away the old feathers to give way to new ones. This self care enables the birds to appear aesthetically appealing during the courtship rituals.
With so many benefits, it is natural that birds spend most of their time in preening their feathers when not foraging for food.
A docent told me that they expected the eggs to start hatching any minute. I didn't have the patience to wait, and forgot to go back and check on my way out.