470 Bird - Lore 



one thing about them, that they are formed Uke a series of catches, or inter- 

 locking hooklets. On one side of the barbs, are barbules shaped like hooks, and 

 on the other side, barbules shaped like troughs, into which the hooks catch and 

 cling, while on each side of the barbules are still more minute structures. 

 This device is very remarkable, because it locks the vane of a feather so com- 

 pletely together that every part is taut and trim, and yet the entire vane can 

 be pulled apart, if necessary, and relocked. Did you ever see a bird locking a 

 feather which had become broken apart, by running it through its bill? You 

 can lock a broken feather together again by simply running it through your 

 fingers. You can readily understand that this kind of vane is far more flexible 

 than a vane made out of one whole piece of feather material would be, and 

 not only more flexible but more durable, since it can be quickly and easily 

 repaired at any point if it becomes torn. 



There is still another part to a perfect feather, called the aftershaft, which is a 

 reproduction, on a smaller scale, of the main feather to which it is attached at a 

 point near where the quill and shaft meet. Many feathers do not have after- 

 shafts, and not all aftershafts are perfectly developed. 



Returning to the classification of feathers above, we may say that quill or 

 contour feathers are, in general, like the typical feather just described. The 

 contour feathers covering the body in general are not as stiff as the so-called 

 'flight-feathers' of the wings and tail, and their vanes are softer and less 

 tightly locked near the quill end. 



As their name suggests, they serve the purpose of giving grace and sym- 

 metry to the body of a bird, besides protecting it, and assisting in flight. They 

 are also the feathers most prominently seen and, as we shall learn in a later 

 exercise, they are very dissimilar in color and markings, thereby adding beauty 

 to the bird's plumage. 



Down-feathers do not have a main shaft, but the barbs branch out from one 

 common center, without being locked compactly together into a shapely vane. 

 Instead of resembling flags or pennants, these feathers might be said to look 

 like tiny bouquets, in which long, soft, fluffy barbs are joined at one point, 

 namely, the handle of the bouquet. The barbules of the barbs of down-feathers 

 have no hooks, but are often long and edged with tiny knobs, which serve to 

 make these feathers slightly thick and like felt. Since the down-feathers are 

 mostly hidden beneath the contour-feathers, they are sometimes described as 

 the underclothing of birds. 



Nestling birds at first grow only down-feathers of a peculiar kind, so that in 

 their case it would not be correct to speak of these feathers as underclothing. 



Semi-plumes, filo-plumes, and powder-down feathers are spoken of as 

 degenerate, because they never develop into perfect feathers. Semi-plumes are 

 half-perfect feathers, being downy toward the quill end. By studying their 

 location with reference to the more perfectly developed contour-feathers, you 

 would probably see a reason for their structure. Filo-plumes are commonly 



