{"id":56487,"date":"2018-02-08T05:59:21","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T12:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=56487"},"modified":"2018-02-08T06:32:04","modified_gmt":"2018-02-08T13:32:04","slug":"preening-rough-legged-hawk-the-rest-of-the-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/08\/preening-rough-legged-hawk-the-rest-of-the-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Preening Rough-legged Hawk &#8211; The Rest Of The Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a comment on <a href=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/07\/rough-legged-hawk-in-a-delightful-preening-pose\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">yesterday&#8217;s post<\/a> about\u00a0how the process of\u00a0preening &#8220;rehooked&#8221; the hooks in the feathers of the\u00a0Rough-legged Hawk and repaired the damage\u00a0caused by everyday wear and tear\u00a0&#8220;Diana&#8221; made the following comment:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>&#8220;Ron. I did not know that preening \u201crehooks\u201d as you describe. Thought it was for \u201coiling\u201d feathers. Thanks for the info.&#8221;<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And this was my response to her\u00a0comment:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>&#8220;Diana, preening\/grooming has multiple functions and oiling is certainly one of them. This bird did that too but more than anything else he\u2019s re-zipping hooks in this photo.&#8221;.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Diana&#8217;s comment and those from many others both here and on Facebook who said something similar made me realize that there&#8217;s some confusion about the various functions of preening\/grooming in birds so I decided to try to put it all into perspective with today&#8217;s post. I&#8217;ll do it by using some of my\u00a0photos of two different\u00a0birds (some of which I included in a similar post many years ago, thus the older styled copyright watermark) and summarizing the various functions of preening. Apologies for not including\u00a0image techs but I simply ran out of time..<\/p>\n<p>Birds preen to accomplish the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>to remove dirt, debris and parasites from their feathers<\/li>\n<li>to align their feathers in the best possible positions relative to adjacent feathers and their body shape<\/li>\n<li>to repair damaged feathers by re-hooking the hooks holding their feather barbs together<\/li>\n<li>to apply oil from the uropygial gland to their feathers as a dressing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"_Tgc _s8w\">In today&#8217;s post I&#8217;ll concentrate on how birds oil their feathers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In birds the uropygial gland\u00a0(preen gland) is located at the base of the tail. Most birds have it though it\u2019s absent in many of the ratites (flightless birds) such as the emu, cassowary, ostrich, bustard and a few others. The gland is most highly developed in aquatic species, especially pelicans, petrels, osprey and oilbird.<\/p>\n<p>The gland has pores similar to nipples that empty the oily secretions to the skin\u2019s surface.\u00a0Birds preen by rubbing their bill and face over the gland pores and then transferring that oil to their body\u00a0feathers, legs and feet.<\/p>\n<p>The oil helps to waterproof feathers and apparently functions as a dressing\u00a0that enhances feather integrity and may even help to preserve the horny structure of the bill and\u00a0scales of the feet and legs. There is some evidence to indicate that the gland secretion contains a substance that is a precursor to\u00a0vitamin D, which is then converted to vitamin D by sunlight and absorbed through the skin. Many researchers believe that the\u00a0gland functions differently in various bird species.<\/p>\n<p>Ok, I&#8217;ve been pontificating long enough. Let&#8217;s see how they do it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"22355\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/25\/preening-and-the-uropygial-preen-gland\/black-crowned-night-heron-0450-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0450-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"682,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;9&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 40D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1208766250&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0008&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"black crowned night heron 0450 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0450-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-22355 size-full\" title=\"black-crowned-night-heron-0450-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0450-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"682\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0450-ron-dudley.jpg 682w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0450-ron-dudley-227x300.jpg 227w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0450-ron-dudley-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0450-ron-dudley-400x527.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Some years ago I had the unique opportunity of getting a good look at the\u00a0uropygial gland\u00a0of an adult Black-crowned Night Heron while it was\u00a0applying preen oil to its feathers. Here we see\u00a0the gland\u00a0beneath the raised feathers at the base of the tail. The feathers are raised temporarily to give the bird access to the gland.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"22354\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/25\/preening-and-the-uropygial-preen-gland\/black-crowned-night-heron-0449-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0449-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"648,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;9&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 40D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1208766250&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.001&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"black crowned night heron 0449 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0449-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-22354 size-full\" title=\"black-crowned-night-heron-0449-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0449-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"648\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0449-ron-dudley.jpg 648w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0449-ron-dudley-216x300.jpg 216w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0449-ron-dudley-108x150.jpg 108w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0449-ron-dudley-400x555.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Birds rub their bills over the gland in order to smear the yellow oil over their mandibles and faces and then they transfer the oil to their feathers.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"22361\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/25\/preening-and-the-uropygial-preen-gland\/black-crowned-night-heron-0480b-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0480b-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,868\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;9&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 40D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1208766358&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0008&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"black crowned night heron 0480b ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0480b-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-22361 size-full\" title=\"black-crowned-night-heron-0480b-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0480b-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"868\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0480b-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0480b-ron-dudley-300x289.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0480b-ron-dudley-150x144.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-0480b-ron-dudley-400x385.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At times the\u00a0heron actually appeared to be pinching the gland in order to squeeze oil out of it. Usually observers can never see the gland but I happened to be close enough to\u00a0the heron and at\u00a0just the right angle to get a good look at it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44437\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/19\/preening-rough-legged-hawk\/rough-legged-hawk-6559-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rough-legged-hawk-6559-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"720,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1321958537&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rough-legged-hawk-6559-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rough-legged-hawk-6559-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44437 size-full\" title=\"rough-legged-hawk-6559-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rough-legged-hawk-6559-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rough-legged-hawk-6559-ron-dudley.jpg 720w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rough-legged-hawk-6559-ron-dudley-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rough-legged-hawk-6559-ron-dudley-120x150.jpg 120w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rough-legged-hawk-6559-ron-dudley-400x500.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Rough-legged Hawk featured in yesterday&#8217;s post did almost exactly the same thing. Sadly I deleted all the photos of it accessing its gland because at this angle I couldn&#8217;t actually see the gland and\u00a0I couldn&#8217;t see the hawk&#8217;s face clearly while it was accessing the gland. Here some of the\u00a0back feathers are still raised immediately after the bird had retrieved oil from the gland.<\/p>\n<p>In this photo the hawk is smearing oil on its &#8220;shoulder&#8221; feathers.<\/p>\n<p>While I was with the hawk it applied oil to feathers on several regions of its body but birds have a problem when it comes to applying oil to feathers on their head. They can&#8217;t reach the top and back of their head with their beak and they don&#8217;t have hands\u00a0so how do they do it?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"39581\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/17\/rough-legged-hawk-by-request\/rough-legged-hawk-6560b-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/rough-legged-hawk-6560b-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"710,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1321958537&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rough-legged hawk 6560b ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/rough-legged-hawk-6560b-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-39581 size-full\" title=\"rough-legged-hawk-6560b-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/rough-legged-hawk-6560b-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"710\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/rough-legged-hawk-6560b-ron-dudley.jpg 710w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/rough-legged-hawk-6560b-ron-dudley-237x300.jpg 237w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/rough-legged-hawk-6560b-ron-dudley-118x150.jpg 118w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/rough-legged-hawk-6560b-ron-dudley-400x507.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>They&#8217;re pretty creative about it. They have very flexible necks so they simply rub their heads on other areas of their bodies that have been oiled previously and that transfers some of the oil to their head feathers.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"56489\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/08\/preening-rough-legged-hawk-the-rest-of-the-story\/rough-legged-hawk-6567b-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6567b-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"741,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1321958538&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rough-legged hawk 6567b ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6567b-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-56489 size-full\" title=\"rough-legged-hawk-6567b-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6567b-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"741\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6567b-ron-dudley.jpg 741w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6567b-ron-dudley-247x300.jpg 247w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6567b-ron-dudley-124x150.jpg 124w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6567b-ron-dudley-400x486.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 741px) 100vw, 741px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>They&#8217;re even capable of getting the oil on the tops of their heads by\u00a0twisting their necks and heads\u00a0to extreme angles (seeing this posture\u00a0makes my eyes water and I can almost hear my neck cracking&#8230;).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"56493\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/08\/preening-rough-legged-hawk-the-rest-of-the-story\/rough-legged-hawk-6611-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6611-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,720\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1321958587&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rough-legged hawk 6611 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6611-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-56493 size-full\" title=\"rough-legged-hawk-6611-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6611-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6611-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6611-ron-dudley-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6611-ron-dudley-768x614.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6611-ron-dudley-150x120.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-6611-ron-dudley-400x320.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>44 photos later the hawk repeated the entire process after retrieving more oil from the gland.<\/p>\n<p>Birds are fastidious about preening and keeping their feathers in good shape.\u00a0Their very lives depend on it.<\/p>\n<p>Ron<\/p>\n<p><em>PS &#8211; If you have the interest here&#8217;s an interesting video clip of a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.arkive.org\/great-hornbill\/buceros-bicornis\/video-01.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">male Great Hornbill applying yellow oil from preen gland to its wings, neck and bill.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There&#8217;s more to preening and grooming than just repairing damaged feathers.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/08\/preening-rough-legged-hawk-the-rest-of-the-story\/\"><span>Continue reading<\/span><i class=\"crycon-right-dir\"><\/i><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[334,1126,395,358],"tags":[716,3855,168,3856,1887,255,269,1888],"class_list":["post-56487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-birds","category-black-crowned-night-herons","category-miscellaneous","category-rough-legged-hawks","tag-black-crowned-night-heron","tag-functions-of-preening","tag-grooming","tag-oiling-feathers","tag-preen-gland","tag-preening","tag-rough-legged-hawk","tag-uropygial-gland"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/rough-legged-hawk-6560b-ron-dudley.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1zzJh-eH5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56487"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121424,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56487\/revisions\/121424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}