On a wing and a prayer

Definitely better viewed Large.


This feather is from a Turtle Dove. What I hope to show you is that it is made from several parts which, by a clever bit of design by Nature, "knit" the various parts together to form the single feather which is part of the enormously complex wing structure of a bird.

We are all used to seeing birds bathe in dust or puddles, they then spend ages preening or sorting their feathers out. Part of the cleaning function is to rub along each feather in turn and put it back together again. For this image I have removed six filaments from the 'Vane' of the feather to display how the beasty works. There is obviously a central shaft which grows from the quill; growing from this are filaments which join together by what may simply be described as 'Velcro like' hooks and threads. These are in fact called 'Barbules' they are equipped with hooklets and barbs. To prove the sytem works I have simply stroked the two sections together to reform the outer edge of the feather. I hope you should be able to see the barbules on the left hand side of the opening.

When preparing a fishing fly such as this "Yellow Torrish" two feathers from both the left and right wing are chosen for size and colour. A section is then cut out of the feathers, just as in this picture, and the two sections, which have opposing curves, are tied onto the hook to create a wing.