See Molt.

the process of shedding old and growing new feathers.

to shed the outer skin (exoskeleton) in the process of growth

All birds must get rid of old worn feathers and grow new ones from time to time. This is done all at once (in a few weeks) and is called moulting. All male ducks that come from the Mallard (all domestic ducks except the Muscovy) go through two moults every year. They moult once after the mating season and grow feathers which look like the females. Then they grow new flight feathers and moult once again into their mating colours.

molt i) Shed feathers, hair, a shell, skin, etc., in the process of renewing plumage, acquiring a new growth, etc., ii) the act or an instance of moulting is in moult once a year).

the process by which insects shed elements of the integument during growth.

Shed fur or feathers (for example, foxes moult their thick winter fur in summer, regrowing the fur over the summer in preparation for the following winter).

The shedding of the outermost body covering by insects in their immature stages as they grow in size. A new, larger covering has already been formed before the old one is shed.

periodic shedding of the cuticle in arthropods or the outer skin in reptiles

cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers; "out dog sheds every Spring"

to shed the hard outer skin of an invertebrate during growth.

The process of the bird losing or dropping its old feathers and re-growing new ones.

Shedding of dead fur (also spelt molt)

The yearly shedding and replacement of feathers. Lasts for around 8 weeks.

to shed a hard exoskeleton to allow body growth, or to lose thick body fur during warmer times of the year. Page up

to shed, cast off, old covering and replace with new (British spelling of "molt")

The process of shedding the exoskeleton. This is also known as ecdysis.

To moult is to shed the outer cover of the body. The stag beetle's larva has a hard shiny head which unlike its body is not elastic at all. So in order to grow it has to shed its outer cover. After each moult it gets bigger and fatter. By the time that it has moulted four times is the head is several times the size it was when it first came out of the egg and the body is the size of a person's thumb.

Moulting (or molting, see spelling differences) is the routine shedding of old feathers in birds, old hairs in mammals (see also coat (dog)), old skin in reptiles, and the entire exoskeleton in arthropods.