{"id":19190,"date":"2022-07-29T16:17:35","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T14:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=2375"},"modified":"2022-07-29T17:20:16","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T15:20:16","slug":"how-to-identify-bird-feathers","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/how-to-identify-bird-feathers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to identify bird feathers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Brett Westwood\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 29 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Identifying bird feathers is a great skill for any naturalist to learn. Here, we\u2019ve selected a range of colourful feathers that can help you pinpoint the species of bird<\/a> to which they once belonged.<\/p>\n

The different types of feather<\/h3>\n
There are several types of feathers. Downy ones keep the bird warm and are often less obvious, but most of the visible plumage is made up of contour feathers which often overlap. Many of those we\u2019ve shown here are from the wing and most are primary or secondary feathers.<\/p>\n
The primary feathers are the long, often stiff feathers attached to the \u2018hand\u2019. The shorter secondary feathers are attached to the bird\u2019s \u2018forearm\u2019. On the shoulders are the scapular feathers and the locations of the breast, flank and tail feathers speak for themselves.<\/p>\n

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$\""David\"$ <\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>
How to identify bird feathers<\/h2>\n
This guide will help you identify single feathers, but the remains of a bird of prey or mammal kill will often give you a further set of clues with several types of feather. Sparrowhawk<\/a> plucking-posts are often good hunting grounds, and are targeted by other feather-hunters than ourselves: long-tailed tits<\/a> use up to 2,000 feathers in their spherical nests.<\/p>\n
To preserve any feathers that you find, lay them on a 0.5cm-thick base of washing powder. Cover with another layer of the same thickness and leave to dry for a month.<\/p>\n
Magpie\u00a0feather\u00a0(Pica pica<\/em>)<\/h3>\n $\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>