How Do Birds Handle The Rain?

When it rains, what do birds do? 

What adaptations do they have that help them weather storms?

Their feathers are water resistant, and thanks to an oil gland they have at the base of their tails, they’re able to spread the oil over their feathers to help keep them that way.^{1, 2,&3}

Their feathers are also capable of trapping heat. They can trap warm air within their feathers to keep their bodies warm during a cold rain storm. They can also flatten their feathers to keep out the water if there is heavy rain.¹ This isn’t a complete solution, though, if the birds get caught in the rain for too long. These pockets can also get filled with water, which can put the birds at risk of hypothermia.³

Birds will often wait out the storm within the foliage, but if the storm lasts too long, they’ll have to go out into the storm to eat to avoid starvation.^2&3 When facing the rain, they’ll stand in an upright position with their beaks faced toward the rain – this position helps reduce how much contact the rain has with their bodies and conserves energy. Birds may also huddle together with other birds to reduce how much rain hits them and to stay warm.³

Birds have adaptations to help them handle the rain, but can still be put at risk if they can’t keep themselves dry or find food. 

Have you tried our pellets of unusual remains?

Barn Owls eat voles 80% of the time, so it’s a special moment when you find other prey like snakes or birds or frogs in a pellet. We separate out these special pellets for you to have a unique dissection experience – the majority of these unique remains will be birds. 

In this pack, you have a chance to dissect three pellets that contain unusual remains you won’t find in our standard pellets. We also include crow pellets in these batches to demonstrate that other birds regurgitate pellets, too! 

What will you discover?