Online edition of Sunday Observer

Birds are colourful creatures and what makes them unique is their feathers. No other living creature has feathers.

Feathers dress up the bird, give it its identity, help keep it warm and dry, and most important, enable it to fly....

What are feathers made out of? The wonder substance Keratin. Feathers are light, strong, soft, durable and renewable.

There is a belief that feathers evolved from repetition scales and were originally developed for insulation purposes.

To us, feathers are just feathers. But scientists don't look at them in the same manner. They have divided them into several types such as Contour, Down, Semiplumes, Powder Down, Filoplumes and Bristles. Let's check out these types.

Contour feathers - These give birds its shape and colours. They include the strong flight feathers of the wing and tail. They are curved like aerofoil for aerodynamic efficiency.

Down feathers - They are soft and fluffy. They keep the bird warm and dry. Penguins and ducks have them all over their bodies. Others have them unevenly distributed all over their bodies. Some birds like pigeons and perching birds don't have them at all.

Semiplumes - These are located halfway between contour and down feathers. They provide buoyancy in some waterbirds, insulation and also contribute a bit to the shape and colour of the bird.

Powder down - These feathers are found in some birds like herons, pigeons and parrots. The feathers grow continuously and keep disintegrating at the tip into a fine keratin powder, which the bird spreads like talc over the rest of its plumage. This improves waterproofing and sheen.

Filoplumes - Very small feathers with barbs only at their tips, these feathers are believed to have a sensory function to help the bird keep its plumage in proper order. When a bird runs its beak through its plumage, it is in fact zipping up and unzipping its plumage to keep it in order.

Bristles - These are basically like whiskers and serve the same purpose. They have no barbs at all, are stiff and found near the eyes and mouth. They are protective in function.

Now let's examine the feathers on their wings. The big 'finger' feather on the wing tips which are called primaries are what enables the bird to fly. Birds usually have between nine and twelve of these vital feathers.

The feathers of the 'forearm' are called secondaries and are more in number. Most of these feathers are completely waterproof. They are often made so by the bird's constant rubbing of a special oil from the preen gland.

The colour and shape of feathers help birds recognise each other. The birds know how valuable their feathers are, and spend a lot of time keeping them in perfect working order. It is a matter of life and death for them.

Given the chance, we would just pluck these beautiful feathers off them without batting an eyelid. Egrets nearly went extinct because fashionable women wanted to wear their feathers on their hats!

Facts: Some birds use the down feathers to line their nests and keep their young cosy and snug.Some, e.g. the grebes, make their young eat feathers so as to protect their stomachs from the effect of sharp fish bones they may swallow.

A bird with claws on its wings!

The first known bird which lived about 150 million years ago has an almost unpronounceable name - it's called the ARCHAEOPTERYX. It is believed that it could glide from tree to tree and with the help of claws on its wings climb from branch to branch, like cats! There is only one bird that has claws on its wings today, and that is the young of the South American hoatzin.

The bird loses its claws as it grows into adulthood.

Those of you who have seen a peacock prance about with its tail spread, may have wondered how the shimmering colours in the feathers were created. The colourful secret of a peacock's pride, its beautiful feathers has now been discovered.

Until recently, scientists knew that the shimmering colours were the result of light interacting with some parts of the feathers, but they did not know which part.

According to the National Geographic Kids Magazine, physicists from Fudan University in Shanghai, China discovered that the colours are in the "eyes" of a peacock's tail feathers.

When the feathers were examined under powerful electronic microscopes, it was revealed that the iridescent colours in the eyes are created by microscopic, reflective structures on the feathers.

Layers of tiny rods made of melanin, the substance that darkens human skin, connected by keratin, found in fingernails had been found in each feather. The different patterns of rods act like kaleidoscopes, separating the light waves that pass through them to produce the dazzling effects of the peacock's tail which not only captivates the attention of the female bird, but also that of all those who come across it.