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Researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have figured out how sandgrouse feathers can hold so much water.
The belly feathers of the male desert sandgrouse can absorb and carry water. Researchers have, for the first time, closely examined the unique structure of these feathers to see how they do it and whether the process might be adapted for human use.
Microscopic structures of belly feathers in Namaqua sandgrouse enable them to absorb and retain water with high efficiency, an MIT study finds. Males can fly more than 20 km from a watering hole to their nests holding water for chicks to drink.
The sandgrouse can carry water in its belly feathers from miles away. Now, scientists finally learned how the birds pull it off.
Engineers reveal how African sandgrouses absorb water in their specially-adapted belly feathers, which could inspire new absorbent materials.