Investigate Flamingo Feathers

Welcome guest blogger Jenna Grodzicki! 

My newest book, Wild Style: Amazing Animal Adornments, features 11 animals that decorate themselves in order to survive. Doing the research for this book was a blast! These wacky adornments help the animals stay safe from predators, protect their bodies, show power, make it easier to find a mate, or allow them to sneak up on their meal unseen. 

One such animal is the flamingo. The flamingo spreads oil all over its feathers. This oil is produced in glands near its tail. The oil keeps the flamingo’s plumage waterproof and improves its durability. But how does this actually work? The activity I’ve provided below will show students exactly how the oil does its intended job.

Jenna Grodzicki is the author of both fiction and nonfiction picture books. Her book, I See Sea Food: Sea Creatures That Look Like Food (Millbrook Press, 2019) was the winner of the 2020 Connecticut Book Award in the Young Readers Nonfiction category. Jenna spent more than 10 years as an educator, but now she’s a full-time writer. She loves researching and writing about weird and wonderful animals.