Hi, my name is Steve, and I take care of birds for a living.
Have you ever found a feather on the ground?
I'm going to show you a cool trick that you can do at home, where you can look at any
feather and guess what part of the bird it's from.
All feathers are made from the same protein, and they all grow out of feather follicles in
the bird's skin.
The only difference is how the feather is formed.
There are seven distinct types of feathers, and if you learn all seven you can tell which
one you have just by looking at it.
Let's go through each of the seven types and see what makes each one different.
Flight Feather
Flight feathers are located on the wing and they're really distinct.
They are big feathers that don't have any gaps.
If you flap them through the air you will feel air resistance.
And you will notice that the central rachis is off to one side, not right down the middle.
That's the best way to know that you have a flight feather.
You can even tell what side of the bird it's from.
Figure out which side is the top.
The colors might be different, and the feathers almost always curve a little.
The bottom of the arch is the bottom of the feather.
Now the smaller side goes toward the front of the bird.
Turn your feather so the smaller side is forwards.
Now you know which wing the flight feather came from!
Flight feathers have lots and lots of links between the barbs, which is how they keep their shape
and keep air from passing through the feather.
So these feathers are light and strong enough to push air and keep the bird up in the sky.
Tail Feather
Tail feathers look a lot like flight feathers.
They're big, and they're solid feathers that don't let air pass through.
But if you look at the central rachis you will notice that it's more towards the center.
Most birds have twelve tail feathers.
The center feathers are even on both sides, and they get more asymmetrical as you move
outwards.
Tail feathers are used for steering in flight, but some tail feathers, like those of a pheasant,
are used primarily for display.
Contour Feather
Contour feathers are the vast majority of feathers that you see.
Contour feathers have a tightly linked top that blocks air, and a fuzzy lower part that
lets air pass through.
They cover the bird's body.
The tops overlap to make a smooth layer of feathers that keep the bird waterproof and give
it an aerodynamic shape.
And these feathers are where a lot of birds have patterns and colors.
The top of this feather has lots of links holding the bards together.
That's why it has a flat, smooth shape.
The bottom of the feather has way fewer links, so the feather doesn't hold a consistent shape.
Semiplume feather
Semiplume feathers go one step further.
They have a central rachis, usually right down the middle, but they have almost no links
anywhere on the feather.
So the whole feather is loose and fluffy.
These feathers help make air pockets that hold warm air close to the body.
The air pockets keep the bird warm, even when it's very, very cold outside.
Down Feather
Down feathers are all about insulation.
You will know you have a down feather because it is very small and very fluffy.
Down feathers have that lower part which connects to the bird, and then they have almost no
rachis in the middle.
Just barbs.
These feathers are all about insulation.
If you ever see some clothes that are insulated with down feathers, this is what they use.
Those floating barbs trap pockets of air and keep cold air off the birds (and people).
Bristle Feather
This type is hard to see on a bird, and good luck finding one on the ground.
Bristle feathers are just the central rachis with no barbs.
It's still a feather!
It grows out of a feather follicle, and it looks like a whisker or hair, but birds don't
have any hair.
It's all feathers, and in this case, bristle feathers.
A place I see bristle feathers is around the nostrils of a macaw.
These probably keep dirt and debris out of the bird's nose, just like hairs would in
mammals.
Filoplume Feather
Filoplume feathers are hard to see on birds, but nearly every part of every bird species
has at least one filoplume feather.
They are like a bristle with a tuft at the end.
They are short and sit between other feathers.
Nobody knows exactly what they do, but they seem to be used to sense feather position
and if any feathers are missing.
So let's give this a test.
What type of feather is this?
This is a flight feather.
It's big, curved, and the rachis is off to one side.
This is also a feather from the left side.
And what type is this?
This is a contour feather.
It would cover the body of the bird and give it a smooth shape.
Thanks for learning about birds today.
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