African bird as inspiration for better water bottles

About the episode

African Sandgrouse – they look a bit like a sand-colored pigeon with exotic patterns – have a clever trick of moving water from one place to another.

The researchers discovered it by zooming incredibly close to the bird’s feathers. Using this trick, male Sandgrouse manage to transfer around 15% of their own body weight in water to their young while flying at nearly 40 miles per hour for half an hour.

It’s all in the design of the breast feathers, which the males lower in the water to absorb the water. The special springs were already discovered around 50 years ago, but the exact way in which they hold water can only now be demonstrated using high-resolution microscopes.

The springs all have specialized legs, chambers and tubes that retain fluid perfectly. The researchers believe the structure – now that they’ve mapped it out in great detail – could be inspiration for the controlled capture, retention and release of fluid. For example, when capturing water from the air, with some kind of feathered nets.

They’re also thinking about a new kind of water bags and bottles, where a sandgrouse-based feather structure could ensure water doesn’t splash around when you carry it with you. According to the researchers, it should be possible to collect even better medical specimens, such as covid nasal swabs, with this design.

Oh yes, and good to mention: the feathers that were examined were from a male in the collection of the Harvard University Museum of Comparative Zoology. They did not disturb the wild grouse for this study.

Read more about research here: How an African bird could inspire a better water bottle.