Like water off a darter's back
How often have you watched ducks preening themselves, throwing their beak back towards their tail and then rubbing their head all over their feathers? This isn’t just for fun – they’re coating their feathers with oil from their preen gland, to improve waterproofing. This is a characteristic shared between many water birds.
Not the African darter. They lack a functioning preen gland, so have no ability to coat their feathers in oil. This makes them fantastic divers – they are less buoyant and won’t bob about on the surface like a duck. But it does mean that their feathers will quickly become waterlogged (there’s a reason the popular saying is not “like water off a darter’s back”).
When this happens, the only thing for it is to sit in the sunshine, spread their wings, and wait for them to dry.
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© Kathleen Macdonald