The structure of the feather of a bird. Types of feathers

Feathers are not just the decoration of birds. They give warmth, the ability to fly, find a couple in the mating season, hatch posterity and hide from predators. Consider the types of feathers and their structure.

Why do birds need feathers?

Plumage is a characteristic inherent only in the class of birds. It is vital for the birds and performs many functions. It is feathers that allow birds to fly, creating a streamlined body shape, and most importantly - the bearing surface of the wing and tail. The feather protects the animal's body from damage and injuries. Effective waterproof function - the tops of the feathers fit tightly against each other and prevent wetting. The lower part of contour feathers, down feathers and down are closely intertwined, forming at the surface of the skin a peculiar air cushion protecting the bird's body from hypothermia.

The feathering has a different color and shape and carries information not only about the species, but also often about the sex of the bird. Appearance plays a big role in both intraspecific and interspecific communication.

General structure of the pen

Plumage performs many functions, and each of its individual elements can differ in appearance. Next, we will consider what feathers of birds are. The structure and composition of the plumage have much in common, regardless of destination. The pen consists of a keratin protein. Of the same material as our nails and hair.

The structure of the feather of a bird is as follows: a rod, a cleanser, beards, beards, hooks. The base of each pen is the central pivot. It ends with a hollow eye, which is attached to a feather bag in the skin. This name appeared even at the time when goose feathers were used for writing. Their tips were cleaned, that is, sharpened.

The upper part of the feather on which the barbs are located is called the trunk. To the trunk at an angle of 45 °, elastic filamentary formations are attached-beards of the first order. On them there are even more thin and small threads - beards (they are also called second-order beards).

On the barbules there are hooks, by means of which the barbules are fastened together and form an elastic and dense bellows which is able to resist the air pressure during the flight. If the hooks are uncoupled, then the bird corrects them with the help of the beak. The mechanism is often compared with a zipper. Borodochki in the lower part of the fan have no hooks and make up its down part.

Types of feathers

By structure and functions, feathers can be divided into several types:

• Contour;
• Steering;
• Flywheels;
• Down;
• Fluff.

Despite the fact that outwardly feathers seem quite simple, in structure they are complex and orderly structures and consist of a multitude of the smallest elements. The structure of the pen depends on the functions performed.

Contour feathers

Contour feathers are called so because they form the contour of the bird's body and give it a streamlined shape. They are the main type of plumage and cover the entire body. The structure of the contour feather of the bird is as follows: the rod is rigid, the beards are elastic and linked together. These feathers are located on the body not evenly, but tile, which allows you to cover a large surface of the body. They are fastened in pterilia, special areas of the skin. The structure of the contour feather of the bird forms a dense fan, which almost does not allow air to pass through.

Helms and feathers

The tail feathers are on the tail of the bird. They are long and sturdy, attached to the coccygeal bone and help to change the direction of flight.

Flight feathers are strong, they form the plane of the wing and are designed to provide flight. Are located on the edge of the wing and provide the bird with the necessary lifting power and traction. The lower part of the bird's wing is covered by one of the types of contour feathers - covering.

Down feathers and down

Down feathers are located at the surface of the body, under the contour ones. The structure of the bird's feather feather has its own peculiarities: the rod is very thin, there are no hooks on the barbules. These feathers are soft, airy. They are located between down and contour feathers. The structure of the bird feather feather allows to provide heat insulation.

Pooh resembles a down feather, but with a very short stem. The barbs also do not have hooks, soft and fleece from the shoulder.

Other types of feathers

Very interesting can be the structure of feathers. Birds, or rather their species, a lot, and they can have their own characteristics. For example, some species have threadlike feathers. They are very thin formations with a long stem and only a few barbs at the very end. Scientists still do not know exactly what their function is. Presumably, filamentary feathers refer to the sensory organs and help to establish the position of the flight.

The structure of feathers (birds of some species), belonging to the senses, is always specific. For example, bristles that perform both sensitive and protective functions have a soft core and a few pins at the base. They are located on the head.

There are also decorating feathers - modified contour. They have a variety of shapes and colors and serve to attract females. An example is a rich peacock tail.

Most bird species have a special gland that develops a secret that animals smear their feathers. This prevents them from getting wet, makes them more elastic. But there are birds that do not have such a gland, and its function is performed by powder feathers. In this case, the structure of the bird's feather is simple - it consists of one trunk, which, as it grows, breaks down and crumbles into tiny particles, forming a kind of powder that protects the plumage from getting wet and sticking together.

Feather Growth

The structure of the feather of a bird can be quite complicated, and it develops just as hard. Like hair, feathers grow from the follicle. Each new feather in the beginning of development has in the stem an artery and a vein, which nourish its growth. The trunk of the developing pen in the dark is dark, it is called blood. After the growth is completed, the ocular becomes transparent, the blood no longer enters.

The nascent feather is protected by a waxy keratin cover. At a certain stage of development, the cover is removed by the bird while cleaning the feathers. One, two, less than three times a year, the bird completely changes its plumage. Old feathers fall out, their place is occupied by new ones. This process is called molting. Most birds fade gradually, without losing the ability to fly. However, there are species that lose all of their feathers and can not fly. For example ducks, swans.

Coloring

The structure of the feather bird affects its color. It is possible to separate the factors influencing the color of the pen into two groups: physical and chemical. The chemical factors include the presence in the feathers of various pigments. Linochromes in different concentrations provide yellow, green and red color, melanins - brown and black.

Physical factors include the refraction of light in the pen cells and the angle of incidence of the rays. This results in a green, blue, violet shade and metallic luster.