A quirky look at wildlife. To be taken with a pinch of
salt, but with more than a grain of truth!

I found a feather in the garden the other day. Whenever I do, I am fascinated by the structure and colours. The fragility, too, that belies its strength. After leaving it for another bird to 'feather its nest' literally, along with some hair clippings, I got to thinking about how feathers feature so much in our lives and conversation without us realising it.

The obvious saying just mentioned, in terms of humans, refers to those with power and influence taking advantage of opportunities to improve their own lot in some way, but deviously, much as birds do. They regularly pinch other birds' nesting materials! Perhaps the less said about that, the better, in the human context.

First I decided to find out a bit more about this wonder of nature that adorns our birds, yet has so many other uses. I say 'adorns' our birds as if they are decorative, which of course they are, but they are crucial to their survival too.

There are several different types of feathers specifically designed for flight, display, insulation and whiskers. Whiskers?! Yes, these are fine bristles which are like eyelashes and have a sense of touch. I shall be getting the binoculars out later to see those around the base of 'my' blackbird's bill, eyes and nostrils!

Feathers are made of keratin, the same as our fingernails and hair. Rhinoceros horn and reptile scales are made of the same material too. The flight feathers, primary and secondary, the ones we most often see, have an airfoil like vane (the feathery bit) with a central shaft which is hollow and filled with air. This makes it light and buoyant. The tip of the shaft fits into a follicle in the bird's flesh as do the roots of our hair.

This tip, or quill, is the part that was once used as a pen, the hollow shaft holding the ink, and the end being split, and pressure applied to control the ink flow. Such feathers also found their way in to feather dusters.

The vane is made up of fine filaments that 'zip' together, opening and shutting to allow air through. It is constructed of barbs, barbules and hooklets which enable the bird to preen and put ruffled barbs back in place.

Downy, soft, small feathers are for insulation which is why they are so popular for the best quality pillows, quilts and cushions, the most noted being Eider(duck) down.

I had a 'window strike' yesterday, where a wood pigeon hit my kitchen window with some force, leaving a clear dusty imprint of of body and wings before flying off. I now know that this is from powder down feathers, which are found on birds which do not have preen glands, the powder helping them to groom: a bit like talcum powder.

The glorious colours even in UK birds come in part from carotenoids found in their diets, much like we derive them from vegetables and fruit. These are the reds and yellows such as those found in goldfinches, bullfinches and robins, greenfinches and many more.

The blues and iridescent colours (metallic sheen), such as seen in magpies, jays and starlings, come not from pigments but from the shape of the barbs which act as miniature mirrors and prisms splitting (refracting) light into a rainbow of colours. Is it any wonder feathers have always been favoured as fashion adornments for humans?

It is interesting to note that feathers - or rather the plundering of them - were in part responsible for the formation of the oldest environmental charity, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).It was founded initially to prevent the extinction of the great crested grebe.

In the mid 1800s 'grebe fur', the skin and soft under- pelt of the great crested grebe was a popular substitute for fur. It was followed by the use of the head crest feathers to decorate ladies' hats. Unfortunately, these feathers could only be obtained by killing the birds, and the numbers of grebes dropped dramatically, the bird becoming almost extinct in Britain and Ireland.

New laws, changing fashions, the formation of the RSPB in 1889, together with more lakes becoming available for breeding, gradually increased the numbers again.

Beautiful though they are, coloured feathers have an important use in birds as camouflage; buffs and browns being created from melanin, like our skin colour. It also provides UV protection for birds in the same way it does for us.

Bright colours are significant in mating displays, witness the brilliant breeding plumage in mostly males at this time of year. A feather is naturally white and soft and wears out quickly. Once it is fully grown, it dies, unlike hair or fingernails which grow continually. Consequently, replacement of feathers takes place in an annual moult, round about late summer, during which time birds can appear scruffy, and tend to skulk out of sight. A case of a 'bad hair day' if you like, only lasting longer!

Albinism, a lack of pigmentation, causes totally white plumage and can also affect the eyes, legs and bill colour. It is quite common, and most noticeable in blackbirds. There are other conditions called Leucism, with varying degrees of pigment loss, and Melanism where they are even darker than normal.

The 'white feather' had a special connotation during wartime, when a white feather was offered to men who had not joined the Forces, by people who considered them to be cowards. This in spite of the fact that many of them had been in 'reserve' occupations and were not allowed to join up. My father was one of them, a toolmaker, making tools to be used for making all the armoury needed for the war effort. The pain it caused many, stayed with them till they died. If only this were true:

Though the warriors called him Faint-Heart,

Called him coward, Shaugodaya,

Idler, gambler, Yenadizze,

Little heeded he their jesting,

Little cared he for their insults...

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882): Hiawatha's Wedding-Feast

A more pleasant use of the word 'feather in one's cap' referred originally to the feather plumes on knights' helmets, worn as a sign of distinction, such as the Prince of Wales' three white ostrich feathers. The phrase, meaning some achievement in which one can take pride, has been in common usage since the 16th century.

In various cultures around the world feathers were added to a warrior or hunters' headgear for each kill, of either human or animal/bird.

'Birds of a feather flock together' is yet another saying in use since the 16th century, though similar expressions go back even further. It is usually taken to mean people of like mind gathering together and is often used in a derogatory sense.

I read somewhere that 'feather and flip' is Cockney slang for a kip, ie a nap or sleep, though I have to say it is a new one on me. A 'feather merchant' is used to describe a person, often in the military, that has a 'cushy number' or an easy job.

Feathers are still used for all kinds of decorative purposes, mainly from ostrich, marabou, pheasant, peacock, turkey, guineafowl etc. Hopefully all come from the food chain or are natural moult feathers.

Feathers have been used for stabilising arrows and darts and for fishing lures, and they have had many cultural and religious uses. Eagle and peacock feathers are considered by many to bring good luck. Peacock feathers in particular are much used as body decorations. Marabou feathers, Ostrich feathers and Chandelle feathers are also popular. They are used for decorating greeting cards, hats, hat pins etc, and feather boas are still popular fashion accessories, bringing memories of the 1920s to many older folk.

Now it is time for this 'feather brained' writer to get busy with her quill pen and do other things before she forgets!

It is sad that old sayings such as these seem to be dying out among the young, as it is this which makes our language as rich and colourful as our wildlife. I will leave you with a little more of my favourite poem:

On his head were plumes of swan's down,

On his heels were tails of foxes,

In one hand a fan of feathers,

And a pipe was in the other…..




Danced his Beggar's Dance to please them,

And, returning, sat down laughing

There among the guests assembled,

Sat and fanned himself serenely

With his fan of turkey-feather...

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882): Hiawatha's Wedding-Feast

Websailor's Wacky Wildlife
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27.03.2008 Front Page

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