Well, as you can see, several species of birds that visit my feeder are looking a little rough these days. Don’t fret, they aren’t sick, they’re just molting.

Molting is a very visible signal that nesting season has ended. Birds can either raise a family or they can look good, but they can’t do both.

Like tending offspring, shedding and regrowing feathers is an energy intensive process. Which means it’s still important to keep my feeder stocked with high protein seeds (though insects are also gobbled for their nutrients).

Molting happens in stages, body and wing feathers are shed individually (so the bird can still fly) while head feathers are dropped all at once (hence the raggedy appearance).

Did you know that feathers are almost entirely made from keratin, just like our fingernails? Based on that, if you want better nails maybe consider adding some insects to your diet…