Feathers and flight

Question 1

Feathers

Answer 1

• Define a bird
• Enable flight
• Provides inshulation and may be waterproof
• Colour and form may have sexual signals or cameoflage

Question 2

Feather evolution

Answer 2

• May have been evolved for insulation
• Reptilian scales are origin
• Longer scales trap heat for insulation or solar reflection
• Long scales limit movement so they may be spillted to allow flexiblity
• The result is hypersplitted pigmented scales

Question 3

Feather types

Answer 3

• Contour - covers the body
• Down - insulation
• Semi-plume/filoplume - structural support and plugs in gaps
• Flight feathers - large, stiff and flat
• Aula/bastard wing - used in soaring birds to prevent turbalation
• Coveret feathers - protection and insulation

Question 4

What is the calamus?

Answer 4

The part of the feather that attaches it to the skin

Question 5

“Zipping up” feathers?

Answer 5

• Vein of a feather can be broken up into strands and reattached together
• Barbs and hooks on each strand, keeping them “zipped”
• Called Ramus and Barbules

Question 6

Feather tracts

Answer 6

• Feathers aren’t randomly covered around the body
• Lines of feathers grows out from “tracts”, overlapping each other

Question 7

Feather growth

Answer 7

• Chicks rapidly moult and grow feathers until they reach adult plume
• First feathers are low quality

Question 8

Feather maintenance

Answer 8

• This is called Preening
• Preening zips feather strands back up
• Ensures coverage and overlapping
• Some birds use an oil from a gland to waterproof feathers
• Water and dust baths helps to remove parasites and things stuck on wings

Question 9

Moulting

Answer 9

• Feathers wear out
• Feathers must be replaced regularly
• Some birds moult yearly
• Moulting is an expensive process
• Starts in primaries and then secondaries
• usually happens after breeding season
• Gaps in wings, limit flight and movement

Question 10

Swift moulting

Answer 10

• They live on the wing, they have to fly so they do a bit by bit
• Takes around 6-7 months
• Very slow

Question 11

Duck and geese moulting

Answer 11

• Drop primarilies all together
• Flightless for 4 weeks

Question 12

Active flight requirements

Answer 12

• Large wing surface
• High energy
• Very efficent oxygen transfer to muscles

Question 13

Wing types

Answer 13

• Long and thin - good gliders, high speed
• Short and round - rapid takeoff, higher manoeuverblity

Question 14

Wing tip slots

Answer 14

• Allows greater control at low speed

Question 15

Bird lungs

Answer 15

• One way air flow
• Removes 25% more oxygen per breath than humans
• Efficency meets high oxygen demand of flight

Question 16

Other adaptions for flight

Answer 16

• Hollow bones
• No teeth - light head
• Body centre is gravity centre