How many feathers does a bird have

Birds have six different feather types that vary in shape, structure, and function. The most familiar is the contour feather. It consists of a central shaft and countless barbs that protrude from either side, forming vanes. The portion of the shaft that supports the barbs is called the rachis, while the bare portion that embeds in the skin is called the calamus. Vanes of contour feathers must be rigid and flexible at the same time. Serious engineering solved the problem.

A magnifying glass reveals that each barb has smaller barbs, called barbules, projecting from either side, toward the adjacent barbs. The barbules on one side of the barb are straight, while those on the other are hooked. Cleverly, the barbules of adjacent barbs overlap, so the hooked barbules attach to the straight barbules of the other, making the vane rigid. See diagram above. If barbs separate and the vane splits, the bird can repair it by preening. Running the barbs through its bill reconnects the hooks like a zipper.

Strong, rigid vanes are especially important for flight. The trailing, inner wing feathers, the secondaries, provide lift, while the trailing, outer wing feathers, the primaries, provide thrust.

Most species have large tail feathers. They function like a rudder when flying and like brakes when landing. Smaller contour feathers cover the body and leading edges of the wings.

On the wings, the feathers help form the airfoil shape that is necessary for flight. The same works for the color yellow. But there is a problem with the last primary color, blue. In feathers, there is no blue pigment. So how can a Blue Jay appear blue if it has no blue pigments? The answer is found in the structure of the feather, or the way the feather is designed. When light hits the blue feather remember that white light has all of the colors of the rainbow the feather is designed to reflect back only the blue light to our eyes.

This can be shown in a simple experiment. If you take a blue feather and shine a flashlight on it from the top, you will see the bright blue.

However, if you shine the light from underneath the feather, the blue color disappears. If you repeat this experiment with a red feather, the feather will appear red no matter which direction the light passes through the feather. Red-lored Amazon feather with light shining from below. Notice how the feather looks red no matter which way the light is shining.

Blue Jay feather with light shining from underneath. Notice how all of the blue has disappeared. So how are green feathers made? Touracos are the only bird that can produce green pigments. All other green birds use a combination of pigments and reflecting blue wavelengths.

Can you figure out what color pigment is needed to make green when mixed with the blue wavelengths? If you guessed yellow, you are correct. The wing at the top of this page has yellow pigments but also reflects blue light.

This makes our eye see the color green. There are so many different ways that birds use feathers that there is no way they can all be listed here. This page will let you know the most common uses and a few that are odd but interesting. Obviously, birds use feathers to fly. The long flight feathers help propel the bird through the air, while the contour feathers make the rest of the bird streamline.

During the colder months, feathers help insulate birds to keep them warm. Also, during the hot months feathers can help keep the bird cool. Owls have special serrated flight feathers on their wings that help them fly silently. The serrated edge breaks up the air as it moves over the wing reducing the amount of noise. Ducks and doves, on the other had, have a very smooth leading edge to their wing, and therefore produce a loud whistling noise when flying. Snowy Egret displaying upper tail coverts.

Some birds can move their brightly colored feathers in a way that attracts a mate. Peacocks can fan their upper tail covert feathers producing a beautiful bluish green fan. Other birds, such as the Eastern Kingbird, have a stripe of colorful feathers hidden underneath the contour feathers on top of their head. The bigger the wings, the more muscle is needed to move them.

Although it looks like feathers grow all over a bird, they actually grow in specific areas called feather tracks. In between the feather tracks are down feathers. This keeps the body weight down. Feathers are made of a tough and flexible material called keratin. The spine down the middle, called the shaft, is hollow. The vanes are on the two halves of the feather. They are made of thousands of branches called barbs. Because there are many spaces between these barbs, a feather has as much air as matter.

The contour feathers of a bird are the outside feathers — the ones that you can see. They provide the colour and the shape of the bird. The contour feathers tend to overlap each other, much like tiles on a roof.