Whatbird.com

The more I see of these guys, the weirder they seem.

nice action shots. I have often wondered what the dust bath is for ? to control mites and other parasites or to apply a kind of talcum powder between the feathers

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My New Avatar is in memory of Nancy my darling wife of 10 years who passed away on Monday November the 16th 2009 after an illness

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Great sequence... I know that they take "dust baths" I just wonder what the objective is... mites, parasites, ticks... maybe even for general feather health.

Fraser

I've got an itch! I need a dust bath! Oooh that feels good! Under my wings too!

Oh, what's that? A crunchy bug? Yummy!

 

Watched a very beautiful hummingbird take a very dirty dust bath not too long ago---guess it's not all that uncommon, just funny looking. Great series of pix!!! 

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8 days camping in Western Colorado and 5 new birds: Juniper Titmouse, Mountain Bluebird, Black-billed Magpie, Clark's Nutcracker, Gray Jay. Beautiful!!!

I did not see Kiwi's post before now... similar thinking...

 

Fraser

I'm not sure exactly why they do it, but it seems like it's always on hot days, midafternoon. I have a sequence of another Thrasher I took doing the same thing a couple weeks ago under nearly identical circumstances. I love the goofy faces they make while they're going through all the gyrations.

There is (or used to be?) a dry 'shampoo' for people who for whatever reason couldn't wash their hair in the traditional way. I think the concept had to do with the dusty product absorbing hair oils and then it could be brushed out. Might be something like that for birds? I've heard that mites are a consideration as well.

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8 days camping in Western Colorado and 5 new birds: Juniper Titmouse, Mountain Bluebird, Black-billed Magpie, Clark's Nutcracker, Gray Jay. Beautiful!!!

Now that I think about it, the dust might help waterproof the feathers. I used to have an African Gray Parrot and a couple different cockatoos. They have powder down feathers and a gland at the base of their tails that they use to spread an oily secretion on the feathers that helps the dust adhere and repels water.