[EBB Sightings] Evening dust bath

Carla, 

A couple of quick hits from Google under "dust bathing
birds." The beauty of the web. 

Best regards,
Bob Power
Oakland, CA

1.  Often birds dust bathe in more open
situations, where they flick dust with their feet and
sometimes shuffle
wings; Birds often shake and preen immediately
after dust bathing. The purpose is not well known, but
probably helps
condition feathers and may discourage lice and other
small skin parasites.



2.  Why do birds play in the dust? 

For birds, rolling in the dust is one way they take a
bath. 

First, some fine-feathered facts. Birds have a lot of
oil in their feathers. Regular bathing and preening --
that's a bird's way of combing their feathers with
their beaks -- helps keep feathers in top-flight
shape. 

You'll probably never see a seagull take a dust bath,
simply because it lives around a lot of water. Some
birds that live on land prefer water baths, but during
really dry summers they still keep clean by bathing in
dirt. And, birds that live in really dry areas like
the desert always wash up with dust. 

Every bird has its own bath-time ritual. Dust bathers
make a lot of dust by scraping the ground. Then they
fluff out their feathers and splash their wings in the
dirty mess. Next, they wriggle in the dirt to cover
their breast feathers, and they throw dust on their
back with their mouth until their whole body is a
dusty mess. Finally, they preen their feathers back in
place. While bathing in dust might seem silly to you,
it makes perfect sense for these birds. The dust
absorbs any extra oil in their feathers. 


--- Carla Din  wrote:
> The other evening, I observed a House Wren fluffing
> its feathers in the dust on the West Ridge trail in
> Redwood Park.  Does anyone know anything about this
> behavior?  I understand it's pretty common with
> birds!
>  
> Thanks,
> Carla
> 
> 		
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