Question

Flight feathers are
A) Contours
B) Quills
C) Coverts
D) Filoplumes

Answer 1

Hint: These feathers cover most of the bird’s surface. It protects the bird from the sun, wind, rain and injury. These feathers have different colour patterns.

Complete answer:
Flight is a unique feature of birds. The feather is made up of keratin proteins. The flight feathers of birds are contours. It covers the whole body other than flight feathers and they give characteristics shape to birds. It provides thermoregulation and streamlined position during the flight (the streamlined body of the birds help them to fly through the air very easily and they change direction with the help of their tail). It also has a role in social display.
Types of feathers:
1) Flight feathers: Tail and wing feathers are flight feathers. They have asymmetrical anterior (thin) and posterior (thick) corners. They are the strongest and largest feathers.
3) Down feathers: They are soft and fluffy feathers.
4) Flioplumes feather: These are hair-like and smallest of all feathers, they have rachis but barbs are absent. They contain sensory receptors near the skin at the base.
5) Semiplumes feathers: These are intermediate between contour and down feathers. These are present at edges of contour feathers and provide insulation to down feathers.
6) Bristles feathers: These feathers have stiff rachis but lack barbs. These are present on the head of birds.
7) Covert feathers: These are the set of feathers which cover other feathers and they smooth the airflow over the wings and tail.
8) Quills are writing tools which are made from a flight feather.
Thus, the correct answer is option A.

Note: There is difference between feather and wings:
Feathers are fluffy structures attached to wings, while wings are modified forelimbs for flight. During the flight, wings of the bird move up and down in two directions:
1) Up stroke movement: The upward and backward movement of birds are called UP stroke movement.
2) Downstroke movement: The downward and forward movement of birds is called the downstroke movement.