contour feathers


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Related to contour feathers: Flight feathers, Down feathers

contour feathers

the vaned feathers possessing barbules that chiefly cover the body of a bird and give it a streamlined form. Those which extend beyond the body on the wings and serve for flight are termed flight feathers.
Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005
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Semiplumes lay under the contour feathers and over the down feathers.
Chapter 14: Avian
Iridescent colors such as the head feathers of greater scaup, a hummingbird's throat patch (gorget), and the contour feathers of a grackle, all work in a similar way.
Featherfall
Body or contour feathers cover down feathers to provide a smooth and waterproof surface.
Birds
The specimens from Liaoning show evidence that Confuciusornis had feathers along its leg, making this the earliest record of contour feathers, as distinct from flight feathers.
The bird calls that filled Jurassic Park

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