Hummingbird Yoga—or Preening Routine?
With about 940 feathers to keep in order, hummers stop flying several times a day to preen. Preening helps keep the feathers clean and properly aligned for aerodynamic flight. Here are the steps: Ruffle feathers. Next, nibble along each feather with bill to remove oil, dirt, and parasites. Add fresh oil from gland at base of tail, and work oil into feathers by nibbling. Now, thoroughly clean flight feathers by running each wing feather through bill. Zip closed any places where the feather barbs have separated. Next, use tiny claws to scratch those hard-to-reach places like neck and back of head. Clean sticky nectar from from bill, using claws and nearby branches to wipe it clean from base to tip. Ruffle feathers again, so they all fall neatly into place. Finally, stretch each wing, lower head, fan tail—and take off! Images courtesy of Anne Green