Don't forget your oil!

Evelyn M. S. Duckett

A wildlife program on television showed a film about a mother swan bringing up her chicks, which are called cygnets. As well as being fed and carried around on their mother's back, the little swans had to stroke and clean their feathers with their beaks every now and then. This is called preening.

The commentator on the program explained that swans have oil stored in a gland in their bodies. When they preen, they spread this oil on their feathers. This makes them waterproof. Then when the swans go to swim, the water doesn't soak into their feathers and pull the swans down.

Now, the oil is always there, but it has to be spread. The cygnets may not understand why they have to preen, but it is something little swans have to do.

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