Feathers

Feathers are unique to Birds. They are a defining characteristic of the group, meaning simply that
if an animal has feathers, then it is a bird. Feathers serve many functions in birds but most notable
is the critical role feathers play in enabling birds to fly. Unlike feathers, flight is not a characteristic
restricted to birds - bats fly with great agility and insects fluttered through the air several million
years before birds joined them. But feathers have enabled birds to refine flight to an art form
matched by no other organism alive today. In addition to helping to enable flight, feathers also
provide protection from the elements. Feathers provide birds with waterproofing and insulation
and even block harmful UV rays from reaching birds' skin.

Feather Structure
Feathers consist mainly of beta-keratin, a fibrous protein polymer that forms microscopic filaments
that have strong mechanical properties. Beta-keratins are unique to birds and other reptiles. Beta-
keratins have similar mechanical properties to the alpha-keratins found in the skin of all vertebrates,
including humans and birds, but they are an entirely unrelated family of proteins with a very
different molecular structure. Beta-keratins make up most of the hard structures of reptilian skin
and the leg scales, claws, and beaks of birds. Feather keratins are a special class of beta-keratins
that are characterized by a small deletion in their molecular sequence.

Feather growth
Like hair, feathers develop in a specialized area in the skin called a follicle. As a new feather
develops, it has an artery and vein that extends up through the shaft and nourishes the feather.A
feather at this stage is called a blood feather. Due to the color of the blood supply, the shaft of a
blood feather will appear dark, whereas the shaft of an older, mature feather will be white. A blood
feather has a larger quill (calamus) than a mature feather. A blood feather starts out with a waxy
keratin sheath that protects it while it grows. Like hair, feathers are dead structures when mature.
After they are fully grown, feathers cannot change color or form except through fading or
abrasion. Thereafter, feathers are replaced through regular, periodic molt throughout the life of the
bird. Individual feathers may be replaced anytime if they are accidentally lost or damaged.
calamus (quill) - the hollow shaft of the feather that attaches it to the bird's skin.
rachis - the central shaft of the feather to which the vanes are attached
vane - the flattened part of the feather that is attached on either side of the rachis (each feather has
two vanes)
barbs - the numerous branches off the rachis that form the vanes
barbules - tiny extensions from barbs that are held together by barbicels
barbicels - tiny hooks that interlock to hold the barbules together
Contour Feathers:
These are the exterior feathers of a bird that contribute shape and colour to the feathers. The upper
part is waterproof and is made of barbs that form a stiff vane, the flat surface of the feather. The
lower part of the feather helps in thermoregulation.
There are two kinds of contour feathers:
i. Asymmetrical:
These long, strong asymmetrical feathers are found on the tail and wings. They give the bird its
shape and color and are used in flight.
ii. Symmetrical:
These body contour feathers are symmetrical and give birds their round smooth shape. They
provide protection against the Sun, rain, and wind.
Semiplume Feathers:
These feathers are the cross between the contour feather and the down feather. They do not have
well developed barbicels which make them soft. Semiplume feathers are found underneath contour
feathers and are used for insulation.

Bristles Feathers:
These feathers are a special type of feathers found around the eyelids, mouth, head, and neck.
These feathers help the birds to know the speed and direction of the air. These also safeguard the
bird's eyes from dust and insects.

Filoplume Feathers:
Filoplume feathers are incredibly small. They have a tuft of barbs at the end of the shaft. Unlike
other feathers which are attached to muscle for movement, filoplume feathers are attached to nerve
endings. These feathers send messages to the brain that give information about the placement of
feathers for flight, insulation, and preening.
Down feathers:
Down feathers have little or no shaft. They are soft and fluffy. Down feathers help insulate birds
by trapping air. Some birds, such as herons, have special down feathers called powder down which
breaks up into a fine powder. The bird then spreads this fine powder all over its body to act as a
water repellent.

Flight Feathers:
These feathers are present on the tails and the wings. These are usually long feathers. As the name
itself suggests, these help in flight. Flight feathers have little importance in insulation, and all flight
feathers lack an afterfeather. They also have stronger barbules which give them more strength for
flight.