Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The span between precocial and altricial species is particularly broad in the biology of birds. Precocial birds hatch with their eyes open and are covered with downy feathers that are soon replaced by adult-type feathers. [17] Birds of this kind can also swim and run much sooner after hatching than altricial young, such as songbirds. [17]
All birds are considered to have fledged when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. A young bird that has recently fledged but is still dependent upon parental care and feeding is called a fledgling. People often want to help fledglings, as they appear vulnerable, but it is best to leave them alone. [4]
addled eggs Also, wind eggs; hypanema. [5] Eggs that are not viable and will not hatch. [6] See related: overbrooding. afterfeather Any structure projecting from the shaft of the feather at the rim of the superior umbilicus (at the base of the vanes), but typically a small area of downy barbs growing in rows or as tufts.
In birds, the last five to six caudal vertebrae are fused to form the pygostyle. [14] Some sources note that up to ten caudal vertebrae may make up this fused structure. This structure provides an attachment point for tail feathers that aid in control of flight. [7] Highlighted in red is an intact keeled sternum of a dissected pigeon.
The bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, the chueybird, colloquially as the turtle dove, and it was once known as the Carolina pigeon and Carolina turtledove. [2] It is one of the most abundant and widespread North American birds and a popular gamebird, with more than 20 million birds (up to 70 million in some years ...
The down feather is considered to be the most "straightforward" of all feather types. [2] It has a short or vestigial rachis (shaft), few barbs, and barbules that lack hooks. [3] There are three types of down: natal down, body down and powder down. Natal down is the layer of down feathers that cover most birds at some point in their early ...
The tail feathers are used to control flight acting as rudder and brake, only some of these feathers are as firmly attached as the bird's primaries. Contour feathers are arranged on the body of the bird in the manner of roof tiles. The tips of these feathers are waterproof and help protect the bird from the elements, while the inner parts of ...
Their tail and flight feathers have retrogressed or have become decorative plumes. They have no feather vanes, which means they do not need to oil their feathers, hence they have no preen glands. They have no separation of pterylae (feathered areas) and apteria (non-feathered areas), [38] and finally, they have palaeognathous palates. [39]