#birb tag

[ninetheowl]

Dove beast medic doodles (fan Q&A)

[iratempestatis]

I was just thinking about helping xiao preen when he's in the form of a bird? Like fully bird. Tbh idk the details of preening but I feel like this would be such a precious moment😭😭

SHSJSJ I'll tell you all about it, because I've had birbs in the past (a cat got my babies unfortunately sob) and some friends have them as well <33

Pinfeathers are little growing feathers. They're still in their keratin sheaths, and the feel of it is a bit difficult to describe. It's a bit like a hollow husk. Smaller pinfeathers that haven't fully grown in yet have blood circulation still, so you just have to leave them alone until they grow in. Sometimes they can take damage (excessive scratching, bumping into things) so the vessels break and bleed into the sheath. This is pretty uncommon, but when it happens you can carefully clip it off. If you notice it quickly and deal with it accordingly, there's minimal pain and no infection

Pinfeathers that have finished growing lose their blood vessels and just cover the feather inside, which is curled a bit like a long leaf. You can gently press on the sheath so it breaks apart, and once it's loose enough it just comes off and you can smooth out the feather

Most birds- chickens are exempt because they've been domesticated for so long- generally have areas you can/can't touch, so you really have to be careful with this stuff because you otherwise risk messing with their hormones and causing excess stress. I'll get to that in a bit

Pinfeathers are generally only really visible at the head and neck region of a bird, because those are places they can't reach and preen on their own. They occur everywhere, but the bird grooms those on its own

I've personally never had to help with feathers because I had a pair and the birbs groomed one another <3. But someone I know has a parakeet that demands help with the ones on his head and neck haha. Irrelevant but I think he's almost three decades old now :3

Anyway back to safe regions and erogenous zones- the head and neck are generally safe, but with most birds you have to avoid touching the rest. This can be a bit of a pain because you want them to be comfortable with being touched for short spans of time (health checks, nail clipping) but you, as a rule, shouldn't continually pet or caress them because well. The bird gets horny qdgxcdg. This messes with their hormones and can cause immense stress, which can lead to appetite loss, behavioral issues and overplucking among many other things. This is worse in females because they may also start laying unfertilised eggs excessively, which takes a huge toll on their teeny bodies TT

I realise now that my answer. Digressed immensely into irrelevant territory sjsjsj I AM SO SORRY

ANYWAY since Xiao is a yaksha and is also your babygirl anyway, I figure you could touch him wherever. Preening is a pretty soothing experience so I imagine he'd really like it, although initially he'd be a bit hesitant to ask for it- it can be a lot of work depending on his size

Imagine him nestled in your lap though, his eyes falling shut, neck resting against your belly as he leans into you eepily. Your fingers gently scratching and preening at his head and neck as you tug his lil body closer with your other arm. Imagine him nestling his little head in the crook of your elbow, sharp beak carefully tucked sideways so he doesn't scratch you. Thinking about it is giving me cuteness aggression djvgcdhiadgbh

[the-final-sif]

Birb shows off impressive skill set more news at 2pm

[keplercryptids]

we saw a red-shouldered hawk (!!!!) on our walk today and he was getting absolutely harassed by an extremely irate mockingbird. the hawk was perched in a nearby tree, just chilling, and the mockingbird was screaminggggg! and dive-bombing! and then even chased the hawk for a final few pecks as he flew away. and we could tell the hawk landed in a different tree because all the little birds in that tree were yelling at him and telling him to fuck off lmao until he eventually took off again. nature is beautiful.

[fate-defiant]

yes yes don't fix what ain't broke but when are we gonna address the fact that Princess Tutu never once utilized the fact that ravens can mimic human speech

[cheetahdash]

D-17 || Draw an animal you have never drawn before... B I RB #improvementhell

Simple birb

[birdkeeperlance]

guzma is the personification of that one post that says "ev'ry one of yous,, ev'ry one of yous is valid,,,,"

He is,,,,,

[arthurtread-moved]

THE MICHELIN--

HGSBDEWDGHFJGTNRHEDSDGNHJRTYU