Preen Gland
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<birdfyi-glossary slug="preen-gland"></birdfyi-glossary>Definição
See uropygial gland. An oil-producing gland at the tail base used during feather maintenance.
Explicação detalhada
The preen gland (uropygial gland) is a bilobed holocrine gland that produces waxy secretions crucial to feather maintenance. Birds stimulate the gland with their bill and distribute the oil across feathers during preening. The secretion composition varies seasonally and between sexes; in starlings, it produces volatile compounds that act as a social scent signal. Species lacking the gland (such as some columbids and ratites) use powder-down — specialized feathers that crumble into a fine talc-like dust for feather conditioning.