CHAPTER II 



FEATHERS 



ANY definitions of the Class of birds have been 

 given, but all fall short in some particular, or 

 are weak in having exceptions. Feathered is 

 the one word which always holds true. All birds have 

 feathers, and nowhere else in the world are similar struc- 

 tures found. A feather, like an egg, is perfect in its 

 adaptation to the bird's requirements, and also, like the 

 egg, its structure is rather complicated. 



Structure and Development 



First let us look at the skin itself in which the feathers 



grow. To skin a bird is an easy matter, for the skin, 



or integument as it is called, is very slightly attached 



to the muscles underneath. The skin of a dove is almost 



like tissue-paper, and tears so easily that it is a marvel 



how the hundreds of feathers find a sufficiently strong 



attachment. Thin as is this skin, it is made up of three 



separate layers, but in order to make our feather-study 



enjoyable by not overburdening it with too many details, 



we will consider only the two more important layers of 



the skin — a deeper one, the dermis, and an outer, more 



horny covering, the epidermis. 



19 



