The Incredible Feather

One day, when I left the house, I discovered a large feather on a patch of grass near the stoop. I was taken aback, as I had never seen one this size in the yard, in 25 years. It was about 10 inches long, 2 inches wide, and multicolored — creamy at the base, blending into a rusty red, with a dark band and a white border at the tip.  

I looked through various books and dozens of feather photos, until I discovered it was a tail feather from a red-tailed hawk! The bird obviously did not capture a prey item, and I wondered if it had landed here, or if a random feather had just fallen when the raptor was in flight. 

Small songbirds sport between 1,500 and 3,000 feathers, depending on the season; eagles and birds of prey 5,000 to 8,000; and swans as many as 25,000, with 20,000 in the neck alone. What are the chances of finding my bird’s signature feather, from which it derives its name? A friend was helping to identify it, and decided it was eponymous. The amazing part is that this bird has only 10 to 12 tail feathers. It seems such an unlikely find, that it could almost be some type of sign. In the Cherokee nation, this raptor is a protector spirit, a symbol of power and success, and therefore sacred. The tail feather is used ceremonially. 

Our birds originated from flying dinosaurs with feathers which lived millions of years ago and are among the only vertebrates which flap their wings to fly; bats have a double skin membrane allowing for powered flight. Insects and bees also have flight, but are not related to the avian species. 

Feathers have a multiplicity of functions, sizes and shapes. They keep birds warm and dry, streamline the body, provide color and ornamentation, enable flight, and more, according to ornithologist David Sibley. Each individual has a variety of feathers as well. 

For example, owls have specialized flight feathers which enable them to hunt silently, as well as “ears” or “horns” completely made up of feathers, for camouflage or display. 

Water fowl have more tightly knit waterproof feathers, and cormorants are lacking some of these and need to spread out wings to air and sunshine to dry them fully. 

After feathers have become worn, there is a gradual molt in which old feathers drop out and new ones start to grow, at a pace consistent with necessary flight and warmth. Some waterfowl lose all their flight feathers at the same time, rendering them unable to fly for several weeks. 

Preening is key in all phases of life, and birds spend at least 10 per cent of their time cleaning feathers with their beaks and nails or talons. Some bathe in water, others take dirt baths, or carry out an anting behavior, covering a nest to enable the insects to remove parasites. 

New feathers begin as follicles in the skin, rolled up in a cylinder. Hormones trigger changes in color and patterns, often to move the bird into breeding plumage, and later to drab non-breeding coloration. A molt in songbirds can take up to six weeks, and much longer in larger birds. 

Bird coloration is determined by pigmentation. There are two groups, carotenoids and melanins, the former creating red to yellow hues, the latter, grays, brown and buff. Carotenoids can be found in the diet, affecting coloration. In the Caribbean, I spent time observing flamingos, which lost their pink as they fed shrimp to their offspring, creating a rich color in the young as the parent becomes paler! Melatonins can strengthen feathers and also deter bacteria. It creates dark spots on eggs, making them stronger and reducing the need for calcium, which can deplete the female. 

Some colors, such as in hummingbirds and indigo buntings, are structurally induced, as the shape of feathers reflects light in such a way that we see those scintillating colors.   

Sometimes a serendipitous find, even in one’s own backyard, can lead to an exploration of yet another complex wonder of nature.