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