Birds use their feathers for flight and fluff their feathers to keep warm. Based on Natalia's feather experiment, how do oil spills affect birds’ ability to use their feathers?

A new study finds that even small smudges of oil can have huge impacts on flight and a bird's energy budget. ... For seabirds, oil can sink their natural buoyancy and literally drag them into a watery grave. And the birds that try to clean themselves ingest a sticky poison that ravages their livers, lungs, and intestines.