Birds doing it the octopus way: fright moulting and distraction of predators

"Fright moulting" has been recorded in several orders of birds and interpreted as a way of escaping a predator when already caught. Two observations suggest that the behaviour may have another function, viz. when an aerial predator chases the prey. By shedding body feathers in the air the bird creates a cloud behind it; this might confuse the predator in the same way as the ink of octopuses confuse their predators.