Fabulous facts on feathers.

 Feathers are remarkable things.  On a single bird, ducks specifically, there are over 10,000 of them (link here).  It turns out that birds possess six different types of feathers.  These include contour feathers, semiplumes, down, filoplume feathers, bristles, and powder down.  If you want to read up more on these, click here.

Pin feathers are newly formed feathers that are just beginning to grow.  They are also referred to as blood feathers.  These are feathers that have an ongoing blood supply to them to facilitate growth.  Larger pin feathers may have significantly vasculated follicles that may bleed if the new growth is removed.  Heavy bleeding from these areas can result in death.

Consider that each feather has a type, size, colour, and purpose.  The feathers are replaced at least once a year, sometimes twice if there are breeding and non-breeding plumages.  If a feather gets damaged it is not replaced.  Replacement happens only if the feather, damaged or not, is removed unless it is lost because of the normal molting process.

Feather plucking, in nature, occurs for a variety of reasons.  Birds preen continually.  They use powder down and oil from specialized glands to water-proof and care for their feathers.  While preening a bird may remove certain feathers.  This is often done to line nests; feathers are excellent insulators and help keep eggs and young chicks warm.  Damaged feathers may also be removed so that new ones may develop in their stead.

I have to admit to a certain fascination with feathers.  One of the birds that frequent my home is the Northern Flicker.  We have the red-shafted variety here.  Occasionally I will find a tail feather from one of these birds, always a delightful discovery, and will place it in my hatband (I don't call it macaroni).  Earlier this year I found a bluejay's tail feather and did the same thing with it.  I have found hawk feathers but leave them be as owning them is illegal.

One of the reasons I write blogs is to learn things.  I just read an amazing article on owning bird feathers.  It is well worth the time to peruse it.  Click here if you are interested.  It turns out that it is illegal to possess any feathers of about 800 bird species in North America.  I may have to rethink my feather-in-the-cap thing.  The fine can be steep, up to $250,000.  That's a hefty price to pay for feather-flaunting.

Thanks for reading.  I hope you learned something; I did.  www.ericspix.com