I just realized how little I know about how birds grow feathers. Young birds often have a different color. Do the feathers grow along with the size of the bird or are they replaced, like human teeth? Do feathers grow back if pulled? As far as I understand, human hair is dead. I this the case for feathers too, or do they have blood circulation? Explain like I’m five!
In: Biology
Feathers are modified scales. If you look at a bird’s foot there are scales and it transitions up to feathers along their leg. Fully mature feathers are similar to human hair–they are dead at functional state. They start off as ‘pin feathers’ little spikes hooked to the circulatory system. They are encased in a sheath of keratin, as the feather matures they elongate and the sheath flakes off revealing the fully formed feather, segment by segment. At least with parrots, there is a yearly molt. They drop a lot of feathers really quickly and are covered in pin feathers as they are replaced.
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