The Water Repellency and Feather Structure of Cormorants, Phalacrocoracidae

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Abstract
The water-repellency of the feathers of ducks is greatly increased by a structural feature which can be expressed in terms of diameter and spacing of the barbs and barbules. This structural parameter is smaller for cormorant’s feathers and causes a lesser extent of water repellency. The resulting wetness of the feathers is the proximate cause of the cormorant’s characteristic habit of wing-spreading.

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