Keeping clean

When it comes to keeping clean we have got it down to a T. But what about if you are a bird? When we typically think of feathers we think of the contour feathers that give the bird its form and we also think of the flight feathers, which allow the bird to fly. But there are another group of important feathers called the down feathers. As you can see from any small cluster of down feathers, some of them have a central vatchiss, but radiating off that is a lot of soft insulating material. These feathers are about keeping the bird warm. You will know that from your duvet or pillow case. But what about if you are a pisciverous bird? and you fancy yourself a fish supper . During the process of eating a greasy oily fish,the chances are you will get some over your feathers. What are you going to do about it? Well if you are a heron or a bitten you have come up with a solution, specialized down. Which is called powder down . They grow it on their chest and on their bodies and when they preen it the barbs turn into a scaly dust. Its then there to be preened all over their body where the oil is so it soaks it up like a coagulated mass. But then you have a coagulated mass all over your body, What are you going to do about it? The heron has come with a solution which comes in the form of their center toe, which is pectanated which means it has a comb on it. So the heron can comb the mass of fish oil and coagulated mass out of its plumage.

Habitats

Part eleven how rabbits transform the landscape.

Without rabbits, much more of our downland and cliff tops would be a mass of bramble and hawthorn scrub- not the short, flowered-studded turf that is so characteristic. Rabbits suppress the growth of shrubs by nibbling the growing shoots, but they tend not to eat older shrubs, so established thickets remain. These provide the rabbits with shelter from hungry buzzards, but they give cover to hunting foxes. Nibbling rabbits are very damaging to crops, so farmers try to fence off their fields. Cliff tops are not suitable for crops because of exposure to wind and salt spray, so rabbits are usually tolerated along coastal strips. By their close and constant grazing, rabbits crop the grass as short as if it had been mown. Short turf favours the growth of low growing or creeping plants such as vetches and trefoils, which would otherwise be swamped by long grass and shrubs. These plants attract many butterflies, such as the common blue. The butterflies feed on nectar and lay their eggs on the plants, which serve as food for their caterpillars. The short turf is also highly suitable for other insects, especially ants. The insects in turn attract many species of birds- skylarks for example, common in open country.Rabbits will feed mainly at night, but in undisturbed places will graze by day. Turf near a burrow may be cropped very short, but thistles are avoided.

Habitats.

Part ten the world of minibeasts.

The thousands of species of tiny creatures that live in the leaf litter and soil of the woodland floor can be conveniently grouped under the term minibeasts. They include small insects and spiders, as well as larger creatures such as woodlice, centipedes and earwigs. In addition, there are thousands of species too small to be seen with the naked eye. All the inhabitants of this dark, bustling world spend much of their lives hunting for food, in many cases preying on each other. One way to see minibeasts at close quarters is to take a couple of handfuls of leaf litter ,put it in a large paper funnel and shine light on it from above. Trying to escape the light , and warmth the tiny creatures burrow downwards and fall on to a tray placed underneath. With the exception of fleas and biting lice-which are only likely to be found on mammals and birds-minibeasts are quite harmless to humans. Some of the minibeasts  you might see are bark louse, silverfish, bristletails, springtails, thunderbugs and false scorpions.