A birds plumage is vital for their well-being and survival. A lot of time has to be spent preening, as this Starling is doing.
A birds plumage is vital for their well-being and survival. A lot of time has to be spent preening, as this Starling is doing. Often adding oily secretions from the pyregial gland at the base of the tail to help with water proofing
Size: 3674px × 4600px
Location: Chester, UK
Photo credit: © Nick Greaves / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 4, aerial, altricial, aves, avian, birds, birdwatching, blooded, bonding, cells, chambered, common, communal, contour, decline, drastic, eclipse, feathers, feeding, flocks, glossy, gregarious, gyroid, gyroides, heart, hole, iridescent, keratin, light, maintenance, manoeuvres, mixed, mobbing, murmurations, nester, noisy, olfactory, ornithology, oscines, pair, passerines, plumage, preening, primary, raucous, refraction, resident, roost, rural, scales, secondary, sociable, speckled, spectacular, starling, sturnidae, sturnus, urban, vertebrate, vulgaris, warm, widespread, winter, woodland
