Water carriers
When the heat is on, Killdeer and sandgrouse put their feathers to a novel use - as sponges
Contributed by Eldon Greij
Published:
April 24, 2009
Founding Editor Eldon Greij describes the ingenious and surprising way in which two bird species overcome the formidable challenges of keeping their eggs from overheating and delivering drinking water to thirsty nestlings. Greij explains how both the ground-nesting Killdeer and the desert-dwelling sandgrouse soak their belly feathers, sometimes at watering holes as much as 20 miles from the nest, and then fly back, either to paint their eggs with the cooling water or to allow their chicks to drink the liquid held by the feathers.
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