THE PIGEON 



399 



The feathers are epidermal structures. When the bird 



_ .. is plucked they are found to have been arranged 



Feathers. . * . ; . ,.° 



in certain tracts or pteryla, leaving between 



them bare apteria. The feathers are of several kinds. The 



quill feathers are found along the hinder edges of the wings 



and tail, those on the wings being remiges, those on the tail 



pap 



Fig. 289. — A diagram of a developing feather, highly magnified. 

 — From Shipley and MacBride. 



der.. Dermis ; epid., epidermis ; fol., follicle ; fth., feather ; Mp., Malpighian 

 layer of epidermis ; pap., papilla by the growth of whose epidermis the feather 

 is formed. 



rectrices. The contour feathers cover the body. Those at 

 the bases of the quill feathers are known as coverts. Filo- 

 plumes are little hair -like feathers among the contour 

 feathers. The feathers are moulted every year and thus 

 those damaged by use become replaced. 



A quill feather consists of the following parts : The stem or scapus 

 is divided into a lower, hollow part, the calamus or quill, and an upper, 



