Five pelicans glide across the water in a perfect line. They fly just above the surface . Wing tip to wing tip, their feathers nearly touch . -...~
Suddenly, the birds turn and fly out to sea. Then one by one, they plunge headfirst into the ocean, snatching up fish in their large, pouched bills . Thousands
of kilometers
away, a small bird dances alone above the
farm fields of southern Asia . It dips and soars like a beautiful kite. Bright blue wings flash . This bird is showing off as it looks for a mate . It's called an Indian roller because of its fancy flights. After dark, an owl prowls the night. It has a ghostly white face and sharp talons . Its soft-edged feathers are made for quiet flight. The mouse in the grass below doesn't hear the owl swoop down until it's too late. These birds are different. Yet they all have something in commonfeathers. Discover how birds use their feathers to fly, run, swim, and more.
Fuzzy•
'athe'~
Fancy or drab, feathers cover most of a bird's body. Some chickens even have feathered feet! In fact, birds are the only animals with feathers. That's what makes them birds. Feathers can help a bird fly. They can keep it warm and dry. Feathers can also help a bird find a mate, hide from predators, or avoid a sunburn. When most baby birds hatch, they don't have many feathers. Some have just a bit of fuzz. Feathers quickly grow even before the babies know what to do with them. All feathers are light, yet strong and flexible. They are made of a protein called keratin. That's the same substance in beaks and human hair. Not all feathers are the same. Some are tiny, no bigger than an eyelash. A peacock's flashy tail feathers can grow 1.5 meters (5 feet) long. Most birds have several kinds of feathers. Each kind has a different job.
Fuzz Start closest to a bird's body. There, soft, fluffy feathers keep a bird warm, even in the cold and wind. These down feathers trap air close to the bird's body. Body heat warms the air, creating a layer of insulation. A bird's bigger, outer feathers are called contour feathers. Tiny hooks cover these feathers. A bird can "zip" them together. That protects it from rain, snow, and other bad weather. It also locks feathers in place, so they don't bend as they move. That can help a bird smoothly soar through the air or dive through the water. Some contour feathers, called flight feathers, grow on a bird's wings and tail. Birds need these feathers to fly. They can change the shape of a bird's wings and tail so it can take off, land, dive, or glide.
10 To fly, a bird needs more than feathers. It needs wings. A wing is shaped to fly. The top curves. The under part is flat. As a bird flies, its wings slice through the air. Air pushes and pulls the bird, keeping it aloft. Here's how it works. Air moves faster over the curved top of the wing. That lowers the air pressure above the wing. It also pulls the wing up. Slower air and greater air pressure under the wing push it up. The bird gets the lift it needs to rise into the sky and stay there. Not all birds fly the same way. Some flap. Some plunge. Some hover. Flying style depends on a bird's pattern of flight feathers and the shape and size of its wings.
An adult king penguin stands out among these brown, downy chicks.
20
flas hy: eye-catching
~'Ii~h
Pattrrns
Giant wings let a bird soar like a kite. With wings that can stretch 3.4 meters (11.2 feet), an albatross is a soaring champ. It rides the wind for hours without flapping its wings. Short, rounded wings let a bird take off fast. That comes in handy for birds like pheasants that spend a lot of time on the ground. They erupt with a powerful flap of feathers to escape predators like fox. Narrow, pointed wings let a peregrine falcon race after prey. It flies as fast as 112 kilometers (69 miles) per hour. Then it tucks its wings close to its body to dive, snatching its meal out of mid-air. A hummingbird's smail, light wings let it dart forward, stop, and hover. Unlike other birds, it can fly backward, too. That's because a hummingbird can rotate, or turn, the bones in its wings. So it can flap its wings up and down and forward and back.
A kingfish er uses its powerfu l wings to ri se out of the water after diving for fish.
Tail Feathers
Fancy Feathers
Wings don't do all the work when it comes to flight. Take a look at a bird's tail feathers . They help it stay in the air, steer, and, when it's time to land, slow down. A Cooper's hawk zigzags through the forest, narrowly avoiding trees while chasing a smaller bird. As the hawk turns, its tail twists, too. It steers the hawk this way and that. As a hummingbird hovers, it spreads out its tail feathers. Now air pushes against more of the bird. The fanned feathers give the hummingbird extra lift. Many birds also spread out their tail feathers when they come in for a landing. The bird's tail isn't streamlined any more. Instead of air rushing by the tail, air smacks into it. That helps the bird slow down. Now it can alight easily on a branch or wire, instead of coming in for a crash landing!
A bird's feathers do more than help it fly and land. They also can help a bird find a mate. Take a peacock. It normally drags its long tail feathers behind it. But when a female (called a peahen) is nearby, the peacock spreads its tail feathers like a big fan. They rattle and whoosh. The brilliant green and blue feathers quiver. A male bird of paradise uses fancy feathers to put on a show, too. Some of its feathers look like ribbons and streamers. Others look like a crown. The bird dances. It fluffs out its feathers and poses. It flaps and even hangs upside down. Many female birds aren't nearly as colorful as the male birds. Think of a cardinal. The male is bright red. The female is drab brown. Her feather color is important, too, though. As she sits quietly on a nest of eggs, it's much harder for a predator to spot her.
alight: land
22
N ATIONAL G EOGRAPHIC EXTREME EXPLORER
Feathpre but Flightlr.ss Having feathers doesn't always mean a bird can fly. In fact, some can't. Luckily, they have other ways to get around. A penguin can swim. Its short, thick feathers help keep its skin dry. An ostrich's body is too heavy for takeoff. It uses its fluffy wings for balance as it runs. These two birds may be the best-known flightless birds. Another is the kakapo. This big, green parrot lives on an island in New Zealand. It's called an owl parrot because it only goes out at night. Its feathers act like a cat's whiskers. When they brush up against objects in the dark, they help the kakapo find its way. It's hard to spot a kakapo in the dark, but you might smell one. A kakapo smells like honey.
From flight to creating a colorful sight, birds use their feathers in many different ways. Yet one thing is true. Fancy or not, feathers are what makes a bird a bird.
WORDWISE air pressure: pressure caused
by the weight of air contour feather: feather on the outermost part
of a bird's body down feather: feather closest to a bird's body
and used for insulation flight feather: feather on a bird's wing or tail
that helps it fly keratin: protein that forms feathers
lift: upward-acting force
Ostriches have big feathers, but can't fly. These big birds are too heavy to get off the ground.