Studies of avian migration increasingly use stable isotope analysis to provide vital trophic and spatial markers. However, when interpreting differences in stable isotope values of feathers, many studies are forced to make assumptions about the timing of moult. A fundamental question remains about the consistency of these values within and between feathers from the same individual. In this stud...

1. Recent studies in Scotland suggest that the outermost tail feathers of Barn Swallows ( Hirundo rustica Linnaeus) may be around 10–12 mm longer than the aerodynamic optimum, with sexual selection for long tails accounting for this extra length. 2. To test this hypothesis, we shortened the outermost tail feathers in male and female Barn Swallows in southern Spain by cutting 1, 11 or 21 mm from...

T H E foot of developing embryos of scalefooted varieties of the common domestic fowl (Silver Campine, White Leghorn and others) frequently exhibits feather primordia emerging from the scales of various regions. Many of the feather germs are rudimentary and disappear by the time of hatching, but some persist and differentiate into normal feathers. Such feathers are often inconspicuous and easil...

The flight feathers and their coverts of a European kestrel Falco tinnunculus have been tested for their air transmissivity. The transmissivity was measured in both directions, i.e. from ventral to dorsal and vice versa; the mean difference between the two directions was less than 10 %. However, the transmissivity of the inner versus outer vanes of the remiges and coverts differed significantly...

Birds in the cormorant (Phalacrocoracidae) family dive tens of metres into water to prey on fish while entraining a thin layer of air (a plastron film) within the microstructures of their feathers. In addition, many species within the family spread their wings for long periods of time upon emerging from water. To investigate whether wetting and wing-spreading are related to feather structure, m...

Understanding temporal changes in contaminant levels in coastal environments requires comparing levels of contaminants from the same species from different time periods, particularly if species are declining. Several species of shorebirds migrating through Delaware Bay have declined from the 1980s to the present. To evaluate some contaminants as cause for the declines, we examine levels of merc...

Asymmetrical feathers have been associated with flight capability but are also found in species that do not fly, and their appearance was a major event in feather evolution. Among non-avialan theropods, they are only known in microraptorine dromaeosaurids. Here we report a new troodontid, Jianianhualong tengi gen. et sp. nov., from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group of China, that has anatomical ...

Nonuniform exposures often affect imaging systems, e.g., owing to vignetting. Moreover, the sensor's radiometric response may be nonlinear. These characteristics hinder photometric measurements. They are particularly annoying in image mosaicking, in which images are stitched to enhance the field of view. Mosaics suffer from seams stemming from radiometric inconsistencies between raw images. Pri...

We measured the polarization- and angle-resolved optical scattering and reflection spectra of the quasiordered nanostructures in the bird feather barbs. In addition to the primary peak that originates from single scattering, we observed a secondary peak which exhibits depolarization and distinct angular dispersion. We explained the secondary peak in terms of double scattering, i.e., light is sc...