Wing and Tail Feathers, Brain ID, Molting, bone strength

Before 1850 what were golf balls made of?

leather and feathers

How many hummingbirds does it take to weigh in at 1 oz?

18 hummingbirds!

how many tail feathers do most birds have?

12 feathers

how many primary feathers do most birds have?

9-10 feathers

What are the wing feathers collectively referred to as?

remiges

What are the tail feathers called?

rectrices

what are the longest wing feathers, furthest away from the body?

primary flight feathers

How are owls made quiet?

their feathers are frayed

What are these three feather groups called?

A- Coverts

B- Primaries

C- Secondaries

What are these two feather groups called?

A- Axilars and scapulars

B- Alula

what are the upper and underwing coverts for?

protecting the primaries and secondaries

what are the axilars and scapulars for?

maintain aerodynamics by smoothing the contours between the body and wing

what are the alula and what are they for?

they are the three feathers right where the birds thumb would be and they control directional flight

how long can an asian pheasants tail feathers get?

6ft long

Brain ID

A- Olfactory tract

B- Optic Lobe

C- Cerebrum

D- Medula Oblongata

E- Cerebellum

birds that molt annually do this when?

after breeding but before migration

what usually triggers a bird to molt?

daylength

how many flight feathers do most birds lose at a time?

1 or 2

what kind of bird molts all of their flight feathers at once?

waterfowl

what are the 2 plumages of a semi annually molting bird?

breeding (colorful) and nonbreeding (drab)

feather tracts

ie. Pterylae, are the parts of the skin where a birds feathers come from

what are the bare patches of a birds skin called?

apteria

what do feathers consist of?

keratin and waxes

what is the gland that birds produce their waterproofing oils in?

uropygial gland

where do birds have scales?

on their legs

how are bird bones kept strong despite being hollow?

struts (scaffolding inside of the hollow bone), air sacs (can inflate to increase pressure inside of bones), and fusion (less joints=less weak points)