Water on a goose's back

By Aaron Horrell

You may have heard the expression, "Like water off a duck's back." This image shows what it looks like when water beads on a goose's back.

This is a close-up view of feathers on a snow goose harvested by a hunter at Duck Creek Conservation Area. Light rain was falling. I found it interesting how the raindrops beaded on the goose's feathers as it lay on the ground beside a truck.

Many kinds of birds, and especially waterfowl, have specialized feathers that repel water. An oily substance on their feathers further helps to keep water away from these birds' skin. Waterfowl such as geese, ducks, swans and grebes are able to swim in cold winter water without getting chilled because their special feathers keep water from reaching even the skin on their bellies.