Structure And Function Of Feather Types Flashcards
What are the 6 types of feathers?
Contour, down, semiplume, flight, bristle, filoplume.
What are the 7 functions of a feather?
Flight, protection, warmth, stealth, displaying, avoid predation, walking.
What does the contour feather do?
It gives the bird its shape and colour, they can also help insulate.
What does the down feather do?
Soft and fluffy, these help insulate the bird.
What does the semiplume feather do?
They are found underneath contour feathers, used for insulation.
What do flight feathers do?
They are found in the wings and tail these gives strength for flight.
What does bristle feathers do?
Found around the eye and mouth of insect eating birds, they protect the eyes and help funnel food into the mouth.
What does a filoplume feather do?
Very small and attached to nerve endings, they send information to the brain about feather alignments.
What does the feather function flight help with?
Flight feathers help the bird stay airborne, contour feathers make the bird streamlined.
What does the feather function protection help with?
Feathers underlying skin and areas around the eyes and mouth.
What does the feather function warmth help with?
Feathers are insulating, the numbers of feathers a bird has can change through out the year, for example red polls have 30% more feathers in winter.
What does the feather function stealth help with?
In some species for example, owls, flight feathers are adapted for a silent flight.
What does the feather function displaying help with?
As part of mating behaviours.
What does the feather function avoiding predation help with?
Some birds, for example the dark eyed junco have brightly coloured feathers which they can flash to distract predators. Others use their feathers for camouflage.
What does the feather function walking help with?
Ptarmigans have feathers on their feet, this helps them walk on snow.
