What are upper tail coverts?
These are his upper tail coverts, the feathers on the top side of his body that cover his tail. Upper tail coverts are usually bland feathers shorter than the tail, but peacocks have overturned that rule. Their fancy “tails” are actually very long upper tail coverts that they raise during courtship display.
What is the tail feather of a bird called?
Rectrices
Rectrices: the flight feathers of the tail. Most bird species have 10-12 rectrices.
What is ear coverts in birds?
The ear coverts are small feathers behind the bird’s eye which cover the ear opening (the ear of a bird has no external features)
What is a rump on a bird?
Birds. In bird anatomy, the rump is the body immediately above the tail. The color of plumage on the rump is a characteristic widely used by ornithologists to distinguish between related species, and sometimes also between males and females of the same species.
What are primary coverts?
: a wing covert covering the base of a primary of a bird — see wing illustration.
What are Rictal bristles?
rictal bristle A stiff, modified feather, with little or no vane, found around the gape of many insectivorous birds, possibly serving to aid the capture of food in flight. See also BASAL BRISTLE. A Dictionary of Zoology.
Do all birds have Alula?
The alula is a small structure that is composed of a digit bone and two to six feathers1. Its presence is universal in extant flying birds and can also be found in the fossils of several early ancestors of birds2,3,4.
What are tail feathers?
1. tail feather – feather growing from the tail (uropygium) of a bird. sickle feather – one of the long curved tail feathers of a rooster. flight feather, quill feather, pinion, quill – any of the larger wing or tail feathers of a bird.
What are bird Lores?
In ornithology, the lore is the region between the eye and bill on the side of a bird’s head. This area, which is directly in front of the eye, features a “loral stripe” in many bird species including the red-capped plover.
What is a bib on a bird?
A dark patch of feathers on the breast, or a pattern of uniformly dark breast that contrasts with paler belly.
What is a flank on a bird?
The side of a bird is on the side of its breast. The flanks of a bird are on the sides of its lower belly.
What does the Alula do?
The alula is a small structure located at the joint between the hand-wing and arm-wing of birds and is known to be used in slow flight with high angles of attack such as landing. It is assumed to function similarly to a leading-edge slat that increases lift and delays stall.
What makes up the tail of a bird?
The tailbone is a group of six fused vertebrae called the pygostyle, which supports the tail feathers. Rump muscles control both the pygostyle and the tail feathers. What we normally see as a bird tail is actually the grouping of the flight feathers of the tail.
What kind of bird has a forked tail?
Black-chinned Hummingbird: Medium hummingbird with metallic green upperparts, gray underparts, white breast, green-washed flanks. Head appears black overall with white spot behind eye; cap is very dark green. Throat is iridescent violet; bill is long and slightly decurved. Forked tail is dark green with black outer tail feathers.
What kind of bird flicks its tail up and down?
Many birds move their tails in a particular fashion while perched or foraging. An Eastern phoebe flicks its tail up and down while perched, which is one way to distinguish it from the similar Eastern wood-pewee. The Carolina wren cocks its tail nearly straight up and often over its back.
What kind of bird has white spots on its tail?
Both the tiny Carolina wren and the bulky blue jay have rounded tail tips. A pine warbler has a squared-off tail. An American goldfinch has a slightly notched tail. Notice that the blue jay has white spots on the tips of its tail feathers, and the pine warbler has white webbing down the length of the outer tail feathers.