Scientists uncover the amazing way a desert bird holds water in their belly feathers

Amazing stuff! Say say necessity is the mother of invention no matter whether it is in the desert or elsewhere!

This gives birds of a feather flock together a whole new meaning! 😊

What will be the practical application of this discovery?

"... The unique water-carrying ability of sandgrouse feathers was first reported back in 1896 ...
In 1967 ... reported detailed observations of the birds at watering holes, in a study that proved the unique behavior was indeed real. The scientists found that male sandgrouse feathers could hold about 25 milliliters of water, or about a tenth of a cup, after the bird had spent about five minutes dipping in the water and fluffing its feathers. ...
“This fascinating and in-depth study reveals how the different parts of the sandgrouse’s belly feathers — including the microscopic barb shafts and barbules — work together to hold water,” ..."

From the abstract:

"Desert sandgrouse, such as the Namaqua sandgrouse, nest up to 30 km away from watering holes. Adult male desert sandgrouse have specially adapted feathers on their bellies that hold water, even during flight, allowing the birds to transport water back to the chicks at the nest. The structure of the belly feathers and aspects of the mechanism by which they hold water was first described by Cade and Maclean (Cade, Maclean 1967 Condor69, 323–343 (doi:10.2307/1366197)). Here, we use scanning electron microscopy and micro-computed tomography as well as videography to characterize the geometry of different components of the belly feathers and to show how differences in their bending stiffnesses contribute to the water-holding mechanism. The results of this study will be used in a companion paper to model computationally water uptake by the feather."

Scientists uncover the amazing way sandgrouse hold water in their feathers | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology The structure of the desert birds’ belly feathers enables males to carry water over long distances to their chicks.

Structure and mechanics of water-holding feathers of Namaqua sandgrouse (Pterocles namaqua) (open access)

The belly feathers of the Namaqua Sandgrouse can absorb and retain water so efficiently that the male birds can fly more than 20 kilometers from a distant watering hole back to the nest and still retain enough water in their feathers for the chicks to drink.

Figure 2. (a) Dorsal and ventral views of a specialized dry Namaqua sandgrouse belly feather.