Feathers are one of nature's really neat inventions, and serve many important functions for the birds who wear them.

All birds have them, and each will produce hundreds of them throughout their lifespan.

Each feather is made up of thousands of tiny, hooked strands that zip together off of a hollow main shaft.

Birds keep them in tip-top condition by "preening" them. Preening is a very important social behavior, and birds will spend hours grooming themselves and one another.

Most birds will gradually shed, or "moult" their feathers every year--replacing tattered old feathers with strong new ones. New feathers emerge through a bird's skin encased in a waxy coating, which protects the feather as it grows. This stage of feather growth is called "pinning". Baby birds in "pin feather" stage can look really strange! Eventually this coating breaks away and a new, shiny feather is formed.

Light, flexible, waterproof and durable, there are many types of feathers on an individual bird. Long, strong flight feathers are located on the wing, while the body is covered with finer, wider feathers. Tail feathers can be short and broad or long and wide, depending on the species. Closest to the skin are "down" feathers, which are tiny, fluffy feathers that keep birds insulated.

Many birds have colorful, ornamental feathers on their heads and tails that can be raised and spread for dramatic displays to attract mates or scare away predators. Peacocks are famous for their spectacular tail feathers!

Many birds have been hunted to extinction because of their beautiful feathers. The Carolina Parakeet is a classic example. This colorful, small parrot once flocked in the thousands in the United States. Unfortunately, it was shot for its brightly colored gold and green feathers, which were used in ladies hats and other fashion items. The last Carolina Parakeet died in a zoo in 1940.

Native tribes all over the world use feathers in headdresses and ceremonial clothing. In fact, feathers are considered so valuable by some tribes that they use them as currency, just as we use paper money!

You name the color, and there is a feather to match it. Some birds are living rainbows of colors, especially parrots. So, the next time you find a feather on the ground, try to figure out what kind of feather it is, and who it came from. You can learn a lot about a bird from just one single feather!

Hoatzin

Feathered Creature Feature: The Hoatzin

Did you know that dinosaurs still exist? Well, at least their descendants do. The chicken-sized haotzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) is a truly strange bird, found only in the swamps of the Amazon in South America. Besides its wild crest of long, thin feathers and its blue facial skin, the hoatzin is often compared to the prehistoric flighted dinosaur, Archaeopteryx. Newly-hatched hoatzins are almost featherless, but rapidly grow down, and have claws on first and second digits of their wings, just like the long extinct Archaeopteryx. When frightened or threatened, young hoatzins can drop into the water or from a branch, then use their wing-claws, bills and feet to climb back up! The claws disappear by the time the birds are fully feathered and can fly. These birds are also known locally as the "stinkbird" because the leaves and vegetation they eat are ground up and stored in the bird's large double crop prior to being digested. The vegetation ferments in the crop, giving off a musky, stinky odor!

Click here for more information about the wonderfully weird hoatzin.

Can You Hear Me Now?

The pheasant-sized Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) is thought to have the loudest bird call of any bird on Earth. Native to Australia, the males grow long, elaborate tail feathers during breeding season to attract a mate. Males shake and fan their tails and wings while vocalizing at amazing volume, their songs carrying throughout the forest. This cycle of display and vocalization will continue until a female lyrebird is attracted and decides to mate with the male.

Male Lyerbird Song

More lyrebird information.

Weaver Bird

Tree-top Hotel

This tiny bird might look like a common sparrow, but he's actually one of Nature's finest architects! Found in southern Africa, the sociable weaver finch (Philetarius socius) constructs the world's largest communal nest. These nests can weigh over a hundred pounds and may house hundreds of birds! The nests are constructed of carefully "woven" sticks and dried plant material, with individual entry-way tunnels to private nest chambers--simmilar to a honeycomb. The design of the nest, which looks from a distance like a pile of hay stuck in a tree, is actually quite detailed. Different materials are used for roofing, tunnels, walls, and lining for the nest chambers. The birds even weave sharp sticks and thorns into nest chamber entrances to discourage predators like tree snakes! The nest is continually maintained by the colony to keep it strong and intact.

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Beak Power

Pictured above, Hyacinth macaws (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) have more beak strength than any other macaw. These big, blue parrots live in the rainforests of Brazil, and feed exclusively on palm nuts. Each nut is like a small cocoanut, and it would take a hammer and chisel for a human to crack one. Hyacinths have no trouble at all, and can open a nut in seconds. Their BIG, black beak can exert over 500 lbs per square inch of pressure.

Brown Cowbird

Sneaks and Cheats

The little bird pictured above looks innocent enough, right? Well, don't be fooled--this small bird is a brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) and is considered a "nomadic parasite". Found across North America, these birds sneak into another birds nest (usually a warbler, cardinal, or sparrow) to lay their eggs, which are common in appearance and blend in with any eggs that might already be there. Then the cowbird flies away, never to return. When the unsuspecting host bird returns to the nest, they end up incubating and raising the cowird's chick! This is a very successful strategy for the cowbird, who ends up with more chicks and does virtually no work other than lay the eggs. The species has effectively learned to "cheat" the system, making other birds do their job.

Do you have an interesting Feathered Fact you'd like to share? If so, so e-mail us at the link below.

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Fancy Feathers...

Down feathers are the soft, fluffy feathers that lay closest to a birds body, under the longer external feathers. Down is also the finest natural insulating material known to man. Eighty percent of all the down feathers used to fill our jackets, pillows and sleeping bags comes from goose and duck feathers. But, the most insulating and most valuable down feathers come from the common eider duck (Somateria mollissima). Eider down can cost hundreds of dollars a pound and is gathered from eider nests found on the frozen tundra in Canada and Greenland. The female eider lines her nest with down feathers she pulls from her breast and belly to help protect eggs and insulate hatching babies. Laws are in place to regulate when, and how much down can be collected.

Stop, You're Making Me Blush

Did you know that certain parrots can blush? Palm Cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus aterrimus) are a perfect example. These rare Australian cockatoos have bare skin patches on their faces, and when excited or alarmed they blush a deep red. This is all the more noticable because of the birds dramatic black feathers and huge black beak. Other parrots that blush include buffon's macaws (Ara ambigua), greenwing macaws (Ara chloroptera), and military macaws (Ara militaris).

Just the Facts...

An ostrich (Struthio camelus) has a brain smaller than its' eye.

Parrots don't salivate--their mouths are dry and their tongues are like rubber.

Only hummingbirds can fly upside down, hover, and fly backwards.

Kiwis, penguins, rhea, ostrich, and emu are just a few of the kinds of birds that cannot fly.

Parrots are some of the longest-lived birds. Macaws and cockatoos can live an average of over 60 years!

Most bird species regurgitate paritally digested food to feed their babies. Yep, they throw up right into the babies open mouths...YUMMM.

Groups of Birds are called: chatter (parakeets); flocks (chickens); covey (quail); colony (penguins); and convocation (eagles).