Why do birds have feathers? Detailed answer

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Why do birds have feathers? Detailed answer

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Why do birds have feathers?

The science of evolution explains it this way: many, many years ago, birds belonged to the reptile family. But in the process of development, they deviated from this line, and the scales turned into feathers. The fact is that feathers are just another form of the substance that forms hooves, horns and tails in other animals.

The pen consists of a rod tapering towards the end. The upper, thinner part is called an arrow, and the lower part is called a trunk or shaft. The trunk is hollow inside, thanks to this recess, during growth, nutrients get to the tip of the feather.

The color of bird feathers depends on the pigment in the substance that forms them. Some colors are produced by the reflection of light on the surface of the feathers. The color of birds also depends on the food they eat. For example, some canaries get bright orange feathers instead of yellow when they are fed a little red pepper after hatching.

Birds renew all their plumage every year. During this period, called molting, many birds shed only a few feathers at a time. They quickly grow back.

There are two types of feathers. Those that form the contours of the body are called "contour feathers", while the soft fluffy ones below are called "down". When a bird hatches from an egg, its body is covered with down. It soon gives way to permanent feathers that grow out of the same cellular holes as down.

The structure and size of feathers depend on the lifestyle that the bird leads. Owl feathers, for example, are soft and fluffy, allowing them to fly quietly but not quickly. On the other hand, in the hawk, they are short and close to the body, so that due to the small air resistance, it can fly at high speed. Waterfowl feathers are softened by an oily liquid, making them waterproof.

Author: Likum A.

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

What struck Winston Churchill in the Moscow hotel?

Having visited the USSR in August 1942 and staying at the Metropol, the British Prime Minister was amazed that the water flowed without restrictions.

Writing about this visit in his book The Second World War, Winston Churchill writes: “I noticed that there were no separate taps for cold and hot water above the sinks, and there were no plugs in the sinks. Hot and cold water, mixed to the desired temperature, flowed through one faucet. Also, you didn’t have to wash your hands in the sink, you could do it under running water from the faucet.”

The fact is that in Great Britain and other Western countries, due to the shortage of fresh water at that time, it was customary to use the sink as a filling container: they first took water into it, and then drained it after washing or washing their hands.

The following fact testifies to the acuteness of the problem of providing fresh water: during the Second World War, in Buckingham Palace (the residence of the English kings), in order to save water, a line was drawn on all baths at a height of 13 centimeters from the bottom, indicating the maximum permissible level.

The problem of the limited resource of fresh water has not lost its sharpness at the present time. So, in modern Germany, only rich people, who are not burdened with environmental consciousness, can afford washing dishes under running water.

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