Importance of Feathers for Birds

Serena Cuoghi
Title of Professor of Biology

Same as him hair in mammals, feathers in birds fulfill a wide variety of functions that range from survival in different environments and climates, to allowing them to fly kilometer-long distances. Feathers are made up of various types of proteins, organized in very complex ways and whose evolutionary origin is still not very clear, representing one of the mysteries biological species that have caused the most fascination since the beginning of the observation and study of birds, either because of their usefulness or their varied attractiveness, while the complexity of their composition has even served as a source of knowledge for the development of countless resources implemented by human engineering in areas ranging from the construction of the largest skyscrapers, going through the design of the fastest cars, to having been the main instrument that allowed us for centuries to be able to write our own story.

Ergonomics to fly

In birds, everything is anatomically designed for flight, from porous bones that make the animal lighter, to the structure of light feathers organized aerodynamically on your body, so that you can overcome the variations in currents and air masses during your flight, providing the following advantages: 1) maintenance of temperature stability bodily; 2) reduction of air friction and protection of it against the skin; 3) control of the direction of flight and the balance of the weight of the body; 4) dispersion of air resistance to reduce energy consumption to the minimum necessary, in turn increasing the distances traveled.

All these factors have allowed many species of birds to develop migratory habits, giving them the possibility of conquering all the territories of the planet – even the icy Antarctica – and although flying is not properly an ability of today's penguins, their ancestors perhaps having been trapped on this continent, after the separation of tectonic plates, the abundant feathers that these birds possess have allowed them to adapt to the humid conditions of their environment, developing a great swimming prowess, while the impermeability of their plumage keeps them protected from freezing to death due to the low temperatures to which they are exposed permanently.

vital heat

The type of oviparous reproduction represents an exposure to environmental variations by an embryo that must develop outside the comfortable protection of a maternal womb, representing a system full of risks as the eggs are at the mercy of drastic changes in temperature and the appetite of a wide variety of predators.

The noble and intelligent birds, however, understood what this reproductive vulnerability represents for the survival of their own species, developing habits of paternal care, from the laying of the eggs, taking advantage of the ability of feathers to maintain body heat, while allowing adequate ventilation by means of which they also regulate excess humidity that may exist around the eggs, and all these benefits while remaining permanently alert to the possibility of attack by an intruder, since the vast majority of feathered species have established a dynamic of role exchange, so that both the female and the male can also meet their own needs, without for a moment abandoning the eggs and even the chicks after their birth, this being a life model worthy of being replicated even by humans.

appearance does matter

It seems that frivolity is not a purely human condition, a fact that we can conclude if we we stop to observe more carefully the importance that the birds themselves attribute to their feathers.

Among striking colors, outlandish combinations and complicated choreography, each species of bird manages to manages to get the most out of the beauty of its plumage, particularly when looking for a mate treats. And it is that most of the social behaviors developed by birds are focused on the projection of their own image through their feathers, also becoming a means of body expression that allows them to communicate a large number of messages, in addition to strutting in front of the competitors, to conquer the perfect couple, who of course will be seduced by whoever offers the best show, a fact that does not differ much of human behavior, especially when the importance of feathers has been demonstrated as part of the ritual adornments that many of the ancient cultures.

References

Hickman, C. et al. (1998) Integral Principles of Zoology. 11th Ed. Madrid, Spain. McGraw-Hill Interamericana.

MICHELENA, a. L., & Avila, D. d. (2016). Taxonomic value of the microscopic morphometric characteristics of the feathers in 23 species of birds of prey present in Cuba. Cuba.

Senar, J. C., & Guallar, S. (2004). Much more than feathers (Vol. 2). Barcelona: Institute of Culture of Barcelona. Spain.

Villa, C. (1996). Biology. 8th Edition. Mexico. McGraw-Hill.