Preen oil is an oleaginous secretion that birds spread onto their plumage when preening. It is secreted by the uropygial (or preen) gland, a holocrine complex that is unique to birds and located in the integument of the rump (Clark 2004). The functions of the uropygial gland are still disputed: it may be involved in sexual communication, through pheromone production (Hirao et al. 2009), and thr...

INTRODUCTION Observational studies report inverse associations between the use of feather upper bedding (pillow and/or quilt) and asthma symptoms but there is no randomised controlled trial (RCT) evidence assessing the role of feather upper bedding as a secondary prevention measure. OBJECTIVE To determine whether, among children not using feather upper bedding, a new feather pillow and feathe...

1. The capacity of skin constituents to participate in feather and hair morphogenesis has been analysed in chick and mouse embryos. 2. Reconstituted homoand heterospecific skin explants, consisting of epidermis and dermis from both species, were cultured for 8 days on the chorioallantoic membrane of the chick. 3. Recombinants of dorsal 11-5and 125-day mouse epidermis and dorsal 7-day or tarsome...

This paper uses a fashioned ostrich plume to conceptualize and re-present “feather-work” as being co-constituted by human non-human labor. The archives not only the hands that it but also bird-body grew feathers, insisting be conceptualized researched grown-made commodity. From this starting point, I reconstruct its journey along “feather-road”: from reared plucked on South African farm willowe...

Ten passerine species were examined on three islands of the Azores (North Atlantic) during 2013 and 2014 in order to identify their feather mite assemblages. We recorded 19 feather mite species belonging to four families of the superfamily Analgoidea (Analgidae, Proctophyllodidae, Psoroptoididae and Trouessartiidae). A high prevalence of feather mite species was recorded on the majority of the ...

Feather mites (Astigmata: Analgoidea and Pterolichoidea) are among the most abundant and commonly occurring bird ectosymbionts. Basic questions on the ecology and evolution of feather mites remain unanswered because feather mite species identification is often only possible for adult males, and it is laborious even for specialized taxonomists, thus precluding large-scale identifications. Here, ...

Melanin pigmentation patterns are ubiquitous in animals and function in crypsis, physical protection, thermoregulation and signalling. In vertebrates, pigmentation patterns formed over large body regions as well as within appendages (hair/feathers) may be due to the differential distribution of pigment producing cells (melanocytes) and/or regulation of the melanin synthesis pathway. We took adv...

We present a parametric model for feather modeling in computer graphics. The model is based on Bézier curves and allows easy generation of many feather structures through manipulation of the parameters.

Studies of avian migration increasingly use stable isotope analysis to provide vital trophic and spatial markers. However, when interpreting differences in stable isotope values of feathers, many studies are forced to make assumptions about the timing of moult. A fundamental question remains about the consistency of these values within and between feathers from the same individual. In this stud...

To examine the role of development in the origin of evolutionary novelties, we investigated the developmental mechanisms involved in the formation of a complex morphological novelty-branched feathers. We demonstrate that the anterior-posterior expression polarity of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) and Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (Bmp2) in the primordia of feathers, avian scales, and alligator scales is c...