Bird Feather Anatomy

The skin muscles help a bird in its flight by adjusting the feathers which are attached to the skin muscle and help the bird in its flight maneuvers as well as aiding in mating rituals. The location and the number of tracts varies between species.

Bird S Wing Anatomy Skeleton And Feather

When viewed as a whole the barbs are the vane.

Bird feather anatomy. Contour feathers filoplumes down feathers powder downs and bristles. Feather variations feathers are epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering or plumage on dinosaurs birds and possibly other archosauromorphs. As feathers grow they mature into highly branched structures.

For example the interlocking velcro like structure on many bird feathers creates the smooth flexible and resilient surface that supports flight and sheds water. A stripe of feathers running from the upper beak and up over the eye much like an eyebrow. Feathers have a central shaft.

Feathers cover most of a birds body forming its plumage. In most birds the body is divided into areas that contain feather tracts pterylae and areas that do not apteriae. Auriculars the feathers just below and behind the eye that cover the ear.

One of the horny epidermal formations of birds. There are various kinds of feathers. Test yourself with an interactive reference guide to all the important anatomical systems in a bird.

The contour feathers have the most complex contruction. There are only a few muscles in the trunk and the tail but they are very strong and are essential for the bird. The smooth unpigmented base which extends under the skin into the feather follicle is called the calamus.

They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. Understanding feather anatomy at the microscopic level provides insight into how feathers function. By originating from tracts rather than being randomly distributed feathers can smoothly overlap and conform to the natural contours of the body.

How much do you know about bird anatomy. Barbules are mini barbs that grow from the central shaft of each barb. Feather anatomy feathers are made out of keratin the same protein found in hair and nails.

Feathers are made up of keratin an insoluble protein that is also found in mammalian hair and reptilian scales. Barbules too tiny to show above. Feathers are a unique adaptation of birds.

Each barb is a feather within a feather with a little shaft and little barbs of its own called barbules.

Feather Zoology Britannica