Jungle Myna bathing in rain

[AB Apana]

Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus bathing in the rain at Kabini.

Please add your dusting, birding, and anting images to this thread.

Birds bathe to maintain their feathers. In areas where water is scare they may resort to dusting. The bathing and dusting is done to maintain the optimum amount of oil in the feathers.

A bird is considered to be bathing whenever it uses any of several stereotyped movements to wet its feathers. One pattern, wading, is commonly observed in birds with strong feet and broad, short, flexible wings. In a typical sequence a bird stands in the water, fluffs the feathers to expose the bare skin between their bases, and rapidly flicks the wings in and out of the water. The breast is submerged and rolled vigorously back and forth, and then, as the front end emerges, the head is thrown back, forming a cup with the partially elevated wings and tail, and dousing the feathers of the back. Those feathers are elevated so that the water reaches the skin, and then lowered, forcing the water between them. The sequence may be repeated, with the bird submerging farther in each cycle, until it is a mass of soaked disarranged feathers. Variations on this theme can be seen in different species, such as robins, thrushes, mockingbirds, jays, and titmice.

Read the full article here:

http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfo...d_Dusting.html