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Jenny,
1. Calamus or quill below the
vane, rachis on the vane part.
2. Hook or hooklets on the
barbules, and
3. Not
just the ends of owl feathers are soft (I don't think frayed is the right
word) but the whole or most of, the upper and lower surface of the vane of the
main flight feathers is fluffy in owls. This contributes to making their flight
silent. The texture of an owl's wing is quite different to other birds for that
reason (very soft).
Philip
-----Original Message-----
From:
Peter and Jenny Farrell <>
To:
Birding Aus <>
Date:
Saturday, 14 February 2004 23:12
Subject: [BIRDING-AUS]
Feather anatomy
Hi again
What do you call the
spine part down the middle of the feather?
What do you call the
little barbs that hold the strands of the feathers
together?
And
is it that the ends of the owls feathers being frayed ?? that make
their
flight silent?
Jenny
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