What are the parts of the contour feather?
What are the parts of the contour feather?
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.
What is the difference between down and contour feathers?
Contour feathers cover the body of the bird, providing protection from the environment. They also provide the bird’s coloring. Down feathers are small, soft, and fluffy, and provide insulation. Semiplumes are halfway between down and contour, and are found between contour feathers.
What are the parts of a feather called?
Feather Anatomy The parts of a feather you can see with the unaided eye are the rachis, vane, afterfeather, barbs, downy barbs and the hollow shaft. There are also tiny parts called barbules and hooklets that help hold the barbs together and give the feather its shape.
What are the main parts of a typical feather?
The typical feather consists of a central shaft (rachis), with serial paired branches (barbs) forming a flattened, usually curved surface—the vane. The barbs possess further branches —the barbules—and the barbules of adjacent barbs are attached to one another by hooks, stiffening the vane.
What are the 3 parts that make up a feather?
Anatomy: Parts of a Feather
- Calamus or Quill: (Pronounced KAL-e-mes) The large hollow portion of the shaft that attaches the feather to the bird’s skin or bone.
- Rachis or Shaft: (Pronounced RAY-kiss) The long, slender central part of the feather that holds the vanes.
What is Down Feather?
The down feather is considered to be the most “straightforward” of all feather types. It has a short or vestigial rachis (shaft), few barbs, and barbules that lack hooks. Body down is a layer of small, fluffy feathers that lie underneath the outer contour feathers on a bird’s body.
Which bird has contour feathers?
Body Down lies under the contour feathers of many adult birds. These are more common in waterbirds such as penguins, loons, and ducks. Ever see a duck or goose line its nest with feathers? These are body down from their breast.
What is meant by contour feather?
Definition of contour feather : one of the medium-sized feathers that form the general covering of a bird and determine the external contour.
What’s the stem of a feather called?
The stiff, sharp “stem” by which the feather in the picture is held is the quill, or calamus. The stiff “midrib” running up the feather’s center is variously called the rachis, shaft or stem. The main, flat, often pigmented part of the feather is known as the vane.
Where are contour feathers located on a bird?
Contour feathers give shape and color to the bird. They are found everywhere except the beak, legs, and feet. Contour feathers are colored only at the ends (the only part that we see). At its base, a contour feather becomes downy which helps insulate the bird.
Where is contour feather located?
features and functions in birds Contour feathers form most of the surface of the bird, streamlining it for flight and often waterproofing it. The basal portion may be downy and thus act as insulation. The major contour feathers of the wing (remiges) and tail (rectrices) and their coverts function in…
What are contour feathers for?
Contour feathers (including the flight and tail feathers) define the body outline and serve as aerodynamic devices; filoplumes (hair feathers) and plumules (down feathers) are used principally as insulation, to conserve body heat.
What is the difference between down feathers and contour feathers?
Contour feathers cover the body of the bird, providing protection from the environment. They also provide the bird’s coloring. Down feathers are small, soft, and fluffy, and provide insulation. Semiplumes are halfway between down and contour, and are found between contour feathers.
What are the parts of a Feather called?
Vane: The plumed part of the feather that grows from the central shaft. The vanes are like the canvas sails on a mast. Notice that the two vanes of this feather are about equally wide. Barb : The barbs grow from the rachis. Each barb is a feather within a feather with a little shaft and little barbs of its own called barbules.
What is the function of downy feathers in birds?
The basal portion may be downy and thus act as insulation. In integument: Birds Contour feathers (including the flight and tail feathers) define the body outline and serve as aerodynamic devices; filoplumes (hair feathers) and plumules (down feathers) are used principally as insulation, to conserve body heat.
What is a vane on a feather?
Vane: The plumed part of the feather that grows from the central shaft. The vanes are like the canvas sails on a mast. Notice that the two vanes of this feather are about equally wide.
