Feathers and Flight
Birds have up to five feather types:
1. Contour feathers cover the body, wing (remiges) and tail (rectrices).
2. Down feathers - these soft and fluffy feathers trap air and create
a layer of insulation next to the bird's body.
3. Semiplumes function to fill in between contour and down feathers.
4. Bristles are small feathers with a stiff shaft and barbs only on the
base, or often not at all. Bristles occur most commonly around the base of the
bill, around the eyes, and as eyelashes.
5. Filoplumes are hairlike feathers that consist of a very fine shaft
with a few short barbs at the end. They are typically covered by other feathers,
and may function as pressure and vibration receptors - they sense the location
of other feathers so they can be adjusted properly.
An Owl has very few down feathers,
but has downy barbules on the parts of the contour feathers closest to the skin.
Many of the Owl's feathers are specially designed - around the face there are
the stiff facial disc feathers or ruff, crown feathers, ear-flap feathers and
also bristles around the bill.
The feet have feathery tendrils that work somewhat like feelers, to help the
Owl react to things they touch, such as prey.
The most unique adaptation of Owl
feathers is the comb-like leading edge of the primary wing feathers. With a
normal bird in flight, air rushes over the surface of the wing, creating turbulence,
which makes a gushing noise. With an Owl's wing, the comb-like feather edge
breaks down the turbulence into little groups called micro-turbulences. This
effectively muffles the sound of the air rushing over the wing surface and allows
the Owl to fly silently.
Silent flight gives Owls the ability to capture prey by stealth, and also allows
the Owl to use its hearing to locate potential prey. This adaptation is not
present on some Owl species that hunt in the daytime.
Pattern and Colour
In general, an Owl's cryptic colours and pattern allow it to blend in with its
surroundings, hiding it from potential danger. This is especially important
for the nocturnal owls, as they need to remain hidden when roosting in the daytime.
When threatened, an owl will often take up a concealing posture, with closed
eyes, raised ear tufts, and compacted feathers.
The ear tufts are actually nothing to do with hearing, they are display feathers,
used to indicate moods, such as fear, anger and excitement. They also help with
camouflage. It is also interesting to note that although owls of the same species
look alike, each individual owl within a species has slightly different markings.
Preening
All birds frequently clean and groom their feathers in order to remove dust,
dirt and parasites. Owls, like most other birds, use their beak and talons to
do this.
Flight feather barbs have tiny barbules that lock the barbs together, making
the feather into a single continuous surface. These barbules often become unhooked
during harsh flying conditions or collisions. A bird will use its beak to realign
the unhooked barbs and restore the feather to peak condition.
There is small gland called the uropygial, located at the base of the tail,
that produces a thin oily liquid. This gland is stimulated by the beak, which
is then used to transfer the liquid to the feathers to provide them with a protective
coating.
Molting
When an Owl hatches, it has no flight feathers, but is covered with downy feathers
that keep it warm. This down is gradually replaced with feathers as the Owl
grows. Juvenile plumage is similar to adult's, but often paler, and sometimes
with different markings.
An adult bird's colour is derived
from mature feathers. During the normal course of the bird's life, these feathers
suffer from damage caused by abrasion, flexing and even collisions.
Like other birds, Owls regularly replace their feathers in a process known as
molting. This usually happens once a year, beginning after the parent birds
have raised a brood that has fledged and can care for themselves.
The process takes up to 3 months, during which feathers are shed and re-grown
over the entire body in a regular pattern. In order to minimise the impact of
the molt on the Owl's flight and hunting skills, this molting pattern only allows
a few of the primary or secondary flight feathers to be shed at time.
With the exception of the Barn Owl, molting of wing feathers is from the inside
out. Barn Owl wing feathers are replaced from the middle of the wing out (in
both directions). Tail feathers also drop out a few at a time, except in some
smaller Owl species, who loose all the tail feathers at once.
When birds molt, new feathers grow to replace the ones that have fallen out. The new feathers immerge from the skin tightly bound in a thin shaft of tissue. These are called pin feathers. The shaft splits shortly after, allowing the new feather to unfurl and grow to its full size.
Flight
Most owls have relatively large, rounded wings. The wings are broad, with a
large surface area relative to the weight of the bird i.e. a low wing loading.
This allows them to fly buoyantly and effortlessly, without too much flapping
and loss of energy. They can glide easily and fly slowly for long periods of
time. Many species use this slow flight to hunt ground-dwelling prey from the
air.