#molting
While migration is going on,
we might often see birds that can be a bit confusing to identify. They are the youngsters from last year and are still molting into their adult plumage or females that are usually more shy. In the last two days, I saw some of this in Rosebreasted Grosbeaks and Redwinged Blackbirds (the third picture is a female).
A molting sawfly larva
WHEN INSECTS SHED THEIR EXOSKELETONS
IT’S “LIKE HAVING YOUR LUNGS RIPPED OUT”
By Erik Stokstad 29 August 2014 || Science/AAAS | News
Reporting on the article by Camp, Funk, and Buchwalter, “A Stressful Shortness of Breath” in Freshwater Science, Vol. 33, No. 3, September 2014.
When an insect gets too big for its exoskeleton, it sheds it. This process—known as molting—might sound matter-of-fact, but it’s not. Insects stop eating, many lie still, and they become more vulnerable to predators. Now, a study of mayfly larvae has revealed another difficulty: While molting, insects can’t breathe. Alarmingly, the respiratory impairment grows more severe with higher temperatures, suggesting that climate change and other stressors could make molting an even greater challenge.
“It’s like having your lungs ripped out,” says Joseph Bernardo, an ecologist at Texas A&M University, College Station, who was not involved in the research. Although it was fairly common knowledge among entomologists that the tracheal linings come out—and likely block the trachea in the process—the impact on respiration hadn’t been measured.
IMAGE: The shed exoskeleton of a larval mayfly. The small filaments are tracheal linings. (A. A. CAMP ET AL., FRESHWATER SCIENCE, 33 (3) (2014))
Post link
Grumpy old man aesthetic.
Molting season gives a special look.
Jack’s wings are itchy, and he’s worried something is terribly wrong with them.
Gen, 2574 words, Rated Teen, Feels, Fluff, Light Hurt/Comfort, Jack and His Three Dads, Wings, Molting Wings, Wing Grooming, Jack Heals Cas’s Burned Wings, Jack Gets A Hug
Read it here on AO3!
The kid looked up at Sam and Cas, admitting, “I’m not sure. My wings…” He squirmed in his seat and rubbed at one shoulder again. “They feel terrible.”
Sam blinked, glancing quickly at Jack’s back. He couldn’t see the wings, of course. What if something was wrong with them, though? Was Jack hurt? A thousand worries went through his head in an instant, and he prayed Cas knew what to do, because he had no idea.
“I know what to do,” Cas assured him aloud, glancing at him. Sam must have actually prayed that with Cas’s name involved, so he’d heard it. Whoops.
Heya! So, as mentioned in the tags of my most recent art post, I’ve finally gotten around to watching Ducktales (2017)!
Tonight, I just watched The Golden Spear! (Season 2, Episode 11), and as much as I love Della’s mission to come back home, I’m also HUGELY freaking out over Ducktales finally showing molting!
Google’s Definition:
Molting; (of an animal) shed old feathers, hair, or skin, or an old shell, to make way for a new growth.
I LOVE it when ducks do duck things!! A quick elaboration — I love it when animators and writers take the time to add basic quirks from real life animals and add it to the animated character. In a way, I believe it makes the character more “real” and it’s honestly so satisfying to see.
Just got out of a lake for a swim? Rapidly shake to get rid of the water sitting on your feathers. Are you super excited to see someone/something? The tail is wagging super fast because you can’t contain it!! When given certain feral aspects, I really think that it makes the character more whole. From humans, we can expect regular, or overexaggerated behaviour. However, if you see a character do a small quirk, like Dolores (From Encanto) walking quietly as to avoid too much noise, then it’s a quirk that adds to their persona. It works for animated ducks just as well!
Some quick Google searching can tell you that ducks molt because they’re shedding old feathers to create new ones, just like how a lizard sheds its old skin to create newer, healthier skin. By molting feathers, it helps to replace damaged feathers that could negatively affect the insulation and water resistance they provide. Plus, newer feathers have brighter colours, which aids in finding new mates.
However, this episode focuses on stress molting. I’ve tried looking around for some information, but it appears I’d have to do some deeper research if I’d want to get into specific causes from the body itself. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to do that right now. The way I think of stress molting is like when humans lose their hair because of stress — It’s just a natural reaction to a stressful environment. However, I don’t know the different sciences behind each stress molt, so I’m not sure there’s any connection. It’s just seemingly similar circumstances to me.
Anyways, the point I’ve been building up to here is that while I’m sad that Donald is overly stressed in this episode to the point where he molts, I’m ecstatic that they’re finally including features like these! In my free time (and admittedly some of my not-so-free time), I’ve had a lot of ideas about how molting would work for Disney ducks. So now that I get to actually see evidence of it occurring canonically, it’s really exciting!! I have a ton of questions that I wish I could find out the canonical answers to. For example: Do ducks isolate when they molt, or is it so common that the public is unbothered? Maybe they try to cover up exposed skin? When molting, would there be any factors that could affect the mood of the molting duck? Things like that, plus simpler ones like if a duck is molting, would they keep some of their feathers for sentimental value? Even if I don’t get the answers to these, there’s always headcanons.
It doesn’t stop at molting, though. I also have a soft spot for when the characters make reference to their bodily features, like their tail or their bill, like it’s just everyday talk. That’s because it is for them! They’re anthro ducks!
“I’m freezin’ me tail feathers off!” - Glomgold
This is from Raiders of the Doomsday Vault (Season 2, Episode 13), and I’m crazy about it already. I can’t wait to see what else the upcoming episodes hold in store!
