Name: _________________________________________ Period 2 6 7
Date:________________________
The Cornell Lab: All About Feathers Web Quest
Please go to the following website http://biology.allaboutbirds.org/all-about-feathers/ and click on the green box
labeled “Launch all about feathers.” Using the information you find there answer the following questions.
Section 1: What is Unique to Birds?
1. What physical characteristic is unique to birds? You may think of beaks, feathers, wings, laying eggs, or
walking on two legs. All of these are important elements of bird anatomy, but only one of them sets birds apart
from all other living creatures. After exploring the bird diagram which of the following is unique to birds?
A. Beak
B. Wings
C. Bipedalism
D. Feathers
E. Eggs
Now click the forward arrow to move onto section 2.
Section 2: How Feathers Are Built?
2. Feathers come in an amazing array of types TRUE or FALSE not all feathers are made up of the same basic
parts.
3. Down feathers have _______________ __________________ _____________________ that help trap air
close to the birds warm body.
4. What interlock to form a wind and waterproof barrier that allow birds to fly and stay dry?
Click on each feather in the yellow box at the top of your screen. Write on the line the name of each
feather.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Tail Feather:
5. The tail feather is also known as what?
6. Tail feathers aid birds in what vital process?
Contour Feather: 7. The contour feathers are found where on the bird?
8. The base of the feather has a downy section that does what?
____________ Feather: 9. What type of feather is hidden beneath the other feathers on the birds body and
have loose structure that helps them stay warm?
Down Feather: 10. The down feather has what type of structure?
11. What is different about the rachis on down feathers compared to the other types of feathers
we have explored?
12. Label the parts of the wing feather:
A. _______________________________: the area where
barbs interlock to create a smooth surface
B ______________________________: the main branches
off the central rachis
C ________________________________: the stiff central
shaft where the barbs branch.
D. _______________________________: the hollow
barbless base of the shaft where the muscles attach
E. ________________________________: the area where
barbs do not interlock
13. Each feather on a bird’s body is a finely tuned structure that serves an important role in the bird’s activities.
Feathers help birds fly, but they also help them show off, blend in, stay warm, and keep dry. Some feathers have
evolved as specialized airfoils for efficient flight. Others have developed into extreme ornamental forms that
may even hinder mobility. Often we can readily tell how a feather functions, but sometimes the role of a feather
is mysterious and we need a good scientific study to fill in the picture.
A. The primary and secondary wing feathers are what allow birds
to take to the skies. What function does this feather serve?
______________________________________________
B. Covered with fuzzy feathers, young Mute Swans must be able
to swim and forage alongside their parents almost immediately
after hatching. The temporary natal ______________________ on
these precocial chicks helps keep them ______________ in cold
water. What function does this feather serve?
____________________________________________________
C. These tail feathers are highly modified for _________________
that they don’t look like tail feathers. Structurally, the feather is
bizarre with a bare _______________________ that end in a tight
spiral of barbs.
D. What two functions does this feather serve?
_____________________ ___________________________
Section 4: Feathers Through Time
Feathers Through Time
14. From the fossil record we know that birds evolved from ___________________?
The First Clue: Fossilized Feathers
15. The first major clue was ________________________ unearthed in Germany in 1861.
16. What was the name of the most famous fossil of all time?
17. Please write the 5 steps of Feather Growth:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
18. Dozens of _________________________ dinosaurs had simple stages 1 and 2 feathers.
19. Some theropod dinosaurs had more than simple fuzz and were adorned with feathers from later
evolutionary stages. Ornithomimus for example had large feathers anchored to wing like
__________________________. But since they only grew on the massive adults, these feathers were likely
used for display rather than flight.
Early Feather Functions
20. Ancient feathers evolved through a series of innovations to form the modern flight feathers whose
evolutionary legacy is etched in its growth process. Please click on each of the terms: Camouflage, insulation
and display.
What color is the dinosaur described in camouflage? _________________________
Section 6 Think About Feathers
21. How does the structure of wing feathers support flight?
22. How does the structure of down work to insulate the bird?