Count the Feathers – Little Cormorant !!

 

Count the feathers !!

One of the most widespread birds in India is the “Little Cormorant”. Any marsh or wetland is incomplete without this ever omnipresent bird. In the ancient “Manuscript” it is mentioned that “A water thief is born as a cormorant”. All cormorants have preen gland secretions that are used presumably to keep the feathers waterproof. However, there seem to be no exact consensus on its function. Some sources state that cormorants have waterproof feathers while others say that they have water permeable feathers. Still others suggest that the outer plumage absorbs water but does not permit it to penetrate the layer of air next to the skin. After fishing, cormorants go ashore, and are frequently seen holding their wings out in the sun. (Source: Wikipedia)

As a child and for long thereafter, I used to wonder whether anyone can ever count the feathers of a bird , until I chanced upon a book on Bird Records. It is said that the bird with the greatest number of feathers is a Whistling swan at 25,216 and the bird with the lowest number of feathers is supposedly the Ruby-throated hummingbird at 940 (other e source: http://www.trails.com/arts/amazing-bird-records.aspx )…. I wonder how many feathers are there in this cormorant ?…. I can count about 12208 🙂

 

Place: Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India

Date: March, 2010

Camera: Canon 40D

Lens: 100-400mm IS