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Na Yo
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The Nature
of
Feathers


by val cunningham


hen a bird wakes up in the morning,

W it is dressed for the day. A bird

doesn’t need a coat and hat for the
cold, or shorts and T-shirt to beat the heat. A
bird doesn’t need sunscreen to prevent
sunburn, nor a raincoat to stay dry.
Birds are some of the most successful animals
on Earth. They live in nearly all climates, from
tropical rainforests to icy seas near the poles.
Birds can endure temperature extremes better
Shush. The great gray than mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and
owl needs silence as insects can. And if the weather gets too bad,
it hunts for mice and they can fly somewhere else.
other small prey. Its What is their secret to success? Feathers, the
soft feathers have all-in-one body covering that sets birds apart
fringed edges and in the animal kingdom. Only birds have
fuzzy surfaces that
muffle the sound of feathers, and any animal that has feathers is a
its broad wings beat- bird. Among other things, feathers enable
ing in the air. birds to fly and to stay warm.

BILL MARCHEL

 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer January–February 2004 

 A Survival Suit for Birds Drawing of
developing feather
Sheath

Like our hair and fingernails, feathers are made of a protein Barb
called keratin. A feather has a central shaft, with many Central shaft
parallel branches called barbs on both sides.
Skin surface
On many feathers, such as flight and tail feathers,
each barb has small barbules and even smaller Developing feather barb
barbicels with hooklets, tiny parts that interlock Feather muscles
to keep the surface of the feather smooth and
weatherproof.
If you run your fingers down the barbs Central shaft How feathers grow. In most
from tip to base, you’ll notice the feather or rachis birds, feathers grow out of little
looks ragged. The gaps form as the pits in the skin called follicles.
barbules pull apart from each other. Follicles form neat rows in
Run your fingers back up the

ILLUSTRATION BY PATRICK J. LYNCH, MANUAL OF ORNITHOLOGY, YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS

patches called feather tracts.
feather, and the barbules hook Feathers grow in thickly
up again, forming a smooth barbicel and overlap so no skin
surface. shows.
As a feather begins to grow
Barbs hooklet
within a covering called a sheath, it
Close-up of barbule develops its central shaft, color, and
pattern. Blood vessels nourish the growing Artery (blood vessel)
feather until it is fully formed, then the blood
vessels wither away. The sheath bursts open and falls off, or the bird
removes the sheath with its beak.
Quill
ft
sha

How feathers move. A bird can move

each of its feathers independently, using
tral

tiny muscles in the skin. This helps a

Cen

bird place its wing feathers, for example, into

position to make a turn or slow down.

Close-up of
feather structure Feather tracts. The shaded areas
Barb show where feather tracts grow
Barbules on songbirds.
ILLUSTRATION BY PATRICK J. LYNCH, MANUAL OF ORNITHOLOGY, YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS

 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer January–February 2004 

 Types of Feathers Bristle. Some birds have stiff, hairlike feathers
near the eyes or nose. For example, bristles help
Every bird has several different types of feathers. Each has a different keep insects out of a swallow’s eyes as it flies to catch
function. These drawings give a general idea of what each type looks like. insects. A woodpecker hammering away at a tree has bristles
In nature the appearance of feathers varies a great deal. that keep wood dust out of its nostrils.

Contour. Contour feathers on body, wing, and tail Powder down. These fragile feathers break
give a bird a streamlined shape and allow it to fly. A into a fine powder that sifts over other feathers
single contour feather may be made up of a million and helps remove dirt. Herons actually rub the
small parts. powder on their feathers.
BILL LINDNER

Body contour Mallard wing

Tail contour
Flight contour
Down. These fluffy feathers grow
near the skin under contour feathers.
Down traps warm air, insulating the
bird from cold. Unlike contour Secondary flight feathers
feathers, down does not have Primary flight feathers
barbules to keep the surface smooth. Adult down Natal (chick) down
Light but strong. Feathers are some of the lightest but strongest materials
in nature. They can withstand raging winds, rain, snowstorms, high doses
of sunlight, and collisions with tree branches. Feathers are flexible too.
Semiplume. These look like a combination of You can bend a feather shaft, and it will straighten back up.
contour and down feathers. Like down, they help Flight feathers are extra strong
trap heat next to the skin. in ducks, geese, swans, and a few
other birds. They have specially
shaped barbs that help keep the
Filoplume. Scattered over the body, these small, feathers from being driven apart
by wind, making them more suit- Secondary flight feathers
delicate feathers move easily. Their tiny movements able for high-speed travel. Unlike attach directly to a wing bone.
send information to nerve cells to tell a bird when its other feathers, secondary flight
BILL LINDNER
contour feathers need adjusting. feathers attach directly to the
wing bone. This adds stability for flight control.
ADAPTED FROM ILLUSTRATIONS BY PATRICK J. LYNCH, MANUAL OF ORNITHOLOGY

 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer January–February 2004 

 Feather Colors An indigo bunting looks Common grackle feathers have
blue, but its feathers layers of cells that reflect light
Bird feathers come in all colors of a rainbow, making birds as colorful as contain no blue like a soap bubble does.
coral reef fish or drab as mice. pigment.

CARL R. SAMS II, DEMBINSKY PHOTO ASSOCIATES

Have you seen a bright red male cardinal or a blue jay in your
neighborhood? The colors you see on these birds form in two different
ways: by pigments and by structures.

Pigment colors. Most feather colors are produced by pigments called

carotenoids or melanins. Both kinds of pigment absorb certain wavelengths

BILL MARCHEL
of light and reflect the rest. We see the reflected light as color.
Carotenoids reflect bright yellow, red, and orange light. Cardinals get
carotenoids from seeds they eat.
Most birds get their color from melanin, the same chemical that colors our Structural colors. The other kind of feather color is not a pigment color.
skin. Birds make melanin from chemical building blocks within their bodies. It is what we see when light hits the parts of the feather (structure). We see
Melanins produce black, gray, or brown colors. Melanin also strengthens feather color because light reflects from or scatters through thin layers of
feathers. As a result, black wingtips are stronger than white ones are. cell walls in the barbs.
When the structure of a feather reflects all of the light, we see white.
White is a structural color.
Blue and most green colors are also structural. Blue jays look blue, but
A northern cardinal has red American goldfinch feathers
pigment in its feathers. have yellow from their feathers have no blue pigment. A blue jay’s feathers have melanin
carotenoids and below the surface under a layer of bubblelike cells. These bubbles reflect and
black from scatter blue light waves, and melanin absorbs the other colors of light.
melanin. That’s why the blue jay’s feathers look blue in sunlight. But in the shade, the
melanin shows up better, and the feathers look blue-gray.
Iridescent colors, such as a male hummingbird’s brilliant throat patch,
also are structural. Iridescent feathers have several layers of bubbles. In
GEORGE E. STEWART, DEMBINSKY PHOTO ASSOCIATES

RANDALL B. HENNE, DEMBINSKY PHOTO ASSOCIATES

some birds these layers are twisted, absorbing or reflecting various

wavelengths of light. The layers reflect light as a soap bubble does, with
colors shifting as your point of view changes.

Invisible colors. Many birds have patches of feathers that reflect

ultraviolet light. Birds can see ultraviolet light, which humans can’t see. So
what we see as a black or blue bird might look much more colorful to other
birds. A female bird might choose a mate based on the brightness of his
ultraviolet feathers.

 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer January–February 2004 

 Mallard drake, eclipsed or summer
plumage. Except for his green bill, molt, adding
this male is hard to tell apart some bright,
from a hen now.
new feathers
to attract a
mate.
Most male
Mallard drake, breeding or winter
birds have plumage. You can see why hunters call
colorful or these ducks greenheads or greenies.
showy
BILL MARCHEL

BILL MARCHEL
feathers to
attract female birds and tell other males to stay away from their territories.
The male wild turkey, for example, sports long tail feathers to impress
Molts and Plumage females and other males. The male cardinal is bright red, while the female is
a soft tan color. Females’ camouflage allows them to sit on their nests
Bird feathers do wear out. Once or twice a year, birds shed their old feathers without being seen by predators.
and grow new ones. This process is called molting. Most birds molt in late
summer or fall, after they have raised their young and before they migrate
to their winter home.
As new feathers grow, they push out old ones.
Feather Care
Most birds molt one feather from each wing at Birds spend a lot of time preening—keeping their feathers clean and in good
Mallard ducklings have a time so they can keep their balance in the air. condition. Their ability to fly and to keep warm depends on a well-
natal down. Many ducks and geese molt all flight feathers at maintained feather coat.
once, so they can’t fly for several weeks and Birds bathe in birdbaths, along lakeshores and rivers, and even in puddles.
must avoid predators by swimming away or After a bath, a bird uses its beak to smooth out its feathers and nibble or
hiding on islands. Most birds take weeks to pluck away dirt and parasites. With its beak, a bird “zips up” its flight
grow a completely new coat of feathers. feathers, closing all the gaps that might allow air
Fluffy down covers newly hatched birds. to flow through and slow down its flight. Mallard preen gland
Within about three weeks, new feathers grow Some birds, such as house sparrows, often
in. These are less colorful than adult feathers. bathe in dust, which absorbs grime and wipes
BILL MARCHEL They camouflage the young birds until they out parasites.
learn to fly and avoid predators. Most birds finish preening by using the beak to
When birds molt in fall, their new feathers are usually much duller than take waxy oil from a preen gland near the tail
their springtime feathers. Just before spring, some birds undergo a partial and spread it on their feathers. The oil keeps
feathers flexible. It might also prevent the growth
Val Cunningham is a nature writer and editor in St. Paul who spends as of harmful bacteria and fungi.
much time as she can outdoors watching birds and other wildlife. BILL LINDNER

 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer January–February 2004 

 Fun Feather Facts Name These Feather Types


A dark blue bird, such as an
Below are several types of grouse feathers. Fill in the blank
Small birds have smaller and with the letter of the feather that matches its type. Hint:
fewer feathers than large birds do. A indigo bunting, has a great deal of Some feathers of grouse, turkeys, and other chickenlike birds
hummingbird, for example, has melanin in its feathers. Buntings have a second feather, called an aftershaft, that grows out of
about 950 feathers covering its tiny look very dark in the shade because the main feather. To help you identify other types of
body, while a swan has about 25,000 we no longer see light reflecting off feathers, see page 46. (Answers on page 52.)
feathers. All feathers are lightweight their feathers. Example: body contour a
and strong. 1. tail contour

Birds can dare to be colorful 2. body contour and semiplume aftershaft

A bird’s feathers help it to
maintain its high internal tempera-
because, if their bright feathers
attract a predator, they can fly away
3. down
4. flight contour
ture, from 105 to 108 degrees, from danger.
depending on the species.

Humans have not been able to

Some birds grow more feathers
to help them beat the cold in winter.
invent anything that holds warmth
better than down feathers. Because
A house sparrow, for example, has feathers insulate better than fur
c
about 3,100 feathers in June, but does, a chickadee can stand the cold
3,500 in January. better than a chipmunk can. a d

b
Attention Teachers
To find an online teachers guide for this article, visit
www.dnr.state.mn.us/young_naturalists/feathers.
To learn more about using Minnesota Conservation e
DEBORAH ROSE
Volunteer as a teaching tool, contact Meredith
McNab, meredith.mcnab@dnr.state.mn.us or
651-215-0615. For illustrations of the kinds of feathers on a bird:
online

www.earthlife.net/birds/feathers.html
To test what you know about feathers:
www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/FeatherQuest/FeatherQuest.html
Answers to page 53: 1. D, 2. E, 3. C, 4. B

 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer January–February 2004 