Ask a
Teacher
Listen &
Feather Zoom Gallery
By Dr. Biology
show/hide words to know
- Illegal: doing something that is against a law. Opposite of legal.
- Migratory: moving from place to place. Birds often migrate to avoid cold and hot temperatures. Some travel thousands of miles each year when migrating.
- Permit: a formal document that gives a person and or group permission to do something.
- Treaty: a formal document that often is linked to a law.
Feathers Up-close
There is nothing like seeing a feather up close. To help you do this we borrowed some feathers from some or our scientists and researchers and took pictures with a special scanner and microscope so you can get a close look at them. Click on any of the feathers in the gallery below and then zoom in and explore. We also have a companion story about feathers that you might like to check out. The black scale bar lines in each image are equal to 10 millimeters (one centimeter).
 | Great Argus Pheasant, Argusianus argus, Wing feather [left] |  |
| Temminck's Tragopan Pheasant Tragopan temminckii Body feather [right] | ||
 | Scarlet Macaw Ara macao Body feather [left] |  |
| Lady Amshert's Pheasant Chrysolophus amherstiae Neck feather [right] | ||
 | Amazon Parrot Unknown species Tail feather [left] |  |
| Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius Wing feather [right] | ||
 | Golden Pheasant Chrysolophus pictus Neck feather [left] |  |
| Wood Duck Aix sponsa Body (side) feather [right] | ||
 | Blue & Gold Macaw Ara ararauna Wing feather top view [left] |  |
| Blue & Gold Macaw Ara ararauna Wing feather bottom view [right] | ||
![Blue and Gold Macaw - <em> Ara ararauna -</em> Wing Feather [top] Magnified](/sites/default/files/zoom_gallery/feather_gallery/images/gold_macaw_top_mag_icon.jpg){kind=icon} | Blue & Gold Macaw Ara ararauna Wing feather magnified top view [left] | ![Blue and Gold Macaw - <em> Ara ararauna -</em> Wing Feather [bottom] Magnified](/sites/default/files/zoom_gallery/feather_gallery/images/gold_macaw_bottom_mag_icon.jpg){kind=icon} |
| Blue & Gold Macaw Ara ararauna Wing feather magnified bottom view [right] | ||
These feathers were collected by scientists and other researchers that have been granted a permit by the government to collect feathers. In case you did not know, in the United States it is illegal to collect feathers from most birds without a permit. So don't start pulling feathers off every bird you see. You can't even keep a feather you found on the ground. In case you would like to know about the law called, "The Migratory Bird Treaty Act," try out this link.
Send 
