#operculum

[fatchance]

Untitled.

[xanaxfarts]

Fake glass opal, Rhodonite, Agate, Unakite, Operculum, Cornish Serpentine. Photog. Keith Wallis

[flock-talk]

my nephew insists i ask Newt's Mom instead of googling his question so.. "how to parrots not drown in the rain? their nose holes point up."

we both love your blog. its the first thing he wants to look at when i babysit <33

This is something I have never once considered, fabulous question!

Parrots possess what's known as an Operculum, it's a keratinous flap inside the nares (nostrils) that basically acts like a little doorway. It will block out things like dust, seed hulls, and water! The operculum is visible if you take a peek down their nostril, you may see what looks like a little bump and that's it! It's far more prominent in some species than others.

image source

The little yellowy white dot in the nose!

i mean good luck trying to spot this in Toto's nose, he's hiding secrets under that moustache!

In parrots this is not a foolproof system as they do not spend much time underwater so their operculum is not as watertight, some water may still sneak by. In those cases the bird will do a little sneeze to blast the water out of nose! In birds that do a lot of diving and fishing the operculum is able to fully shut the nostril and stop water from entering.

I do imagine when it rains they likely find shelter pretty quick to prevent this issue as well, leaves on trees will provide great cover from heavy rainfall! And when it comes to overnight most parrots will be nesting in hollowed out tree cavities that keep them nice and dry or bunched up in a well sheltered tree/ structure.

[vysjewelry]

Victorian operculum and silver necklace, c. 1870 (at Isadoras)

[juhaku-inspired]

yo btw...recently it’s been painful to chew on my left side of my mouth and the gums behind my molar on that side are painful and idk if it’s some wisdom tooth bullshit or nah cause it’s only that side on the bottom and I don’t have any other symptoms really

[operculumlol]

Requests and Commissions

So I’m not gonna establish any hardcore rules or prices or things like that, but I’m almost always taking sketch requests (I’ll let you know if I get backed up at all).  All you have to do is ask or PM me and I’ll see what I can do.

However, if you want something that’s a bit more complicated than a standard sketch (lineart, color/shading, or just a particularly difficult pose with lots of characters) then we may have to talk a price.  I’m still don’t think I’m quality enough to be asking for too much, but I’d prefer not to have to spend 10+ hours on something that I don’t get anything for :\ 

But as for like simple sketch poses with only a couple characters then just ask away!  If it doesn’t seem too hard or time-consuming then I’ll gladly take your request.  

Please bring references though, it makes it a lot easier on me and allows me to more accurately get what you want.

TL;DR: Requests and commissions open almost always, only costs money if you overwork me :( 

Things I won’t draw:

- Pregnancy (conception or otherwise)

- Scat

- Guro

- CP (includes loli and shota)

- Vore

- Cock and ball torture (possibly subject to change)

[operculumlol]

What could Soraka possibly be worried about?  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)