Definition of Contour feather

1. Noun. Feathers covering the body of an adult bird and determining its shape.

Generic synonyms: Feather, Plumage, Plume

Definition of Contour feather

1. Noun. (ornithology) Any feather possessing a central shaft (rachis), usually with vanes composed of barbs. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Contour Feather

contortedly
contortedness
contorting
contortion
contortionate
contortionism
contortionist
contortionistic
contortionists
contortions
contortive
contorts
contortuplicate
contos
contour
contour feather (current term)
contour feathers
contour interval
contour language
contour line
contour lines
contour lines of Owen
contour map
contour sheet
contour tone
contoured
contouring
contourless
contourlet
contourlets

Literary usage of Contour feather

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The English Cyclopaedia by Charles Knight (1870)
"At the same time, they are, as it were, associated with the contour-feathers, one, or even two, filo-plumes standing quite close to every contour-feather of ..."

2. The American Naturalist by American Society of Naturalists, Essex Institute (1897)
"With the contour feather, as with the down feather there is FIG. 10.—Section near the tip of a developing contour feather of a Canary, after Davies. ..."

3. The Animals and Man: An Elementary Textbook of Zoology and Human Physiology by Vernon Lyman Kellogg, Mary Isabel McCracken (1911)
"Examine a plucked-out contour feather. How does it differ from the quill feather? ... From a contour feather? What is the special use of the down feathers? ..."

4. First Lessons in Zoology by Vernon Lyman Kellogg (1903)
"Examine a plucked-out contour feather. How does it differ from the quill feather ... From a contour feather ? What is the special use of the down feathers ? ..."

5. A Course in Vertebrate Zoölogy: A Guide to the Dissection and Comparative by Henry Sherring Pratt (1905)
"Study the structure of a contour feather. It is made up of two portions, ... Draw a sketch of a contour feather showing the quill, vane, shaft, and barbs. ..."

6. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General by Thomas Spencer Baynes (1888)
"Those which exhibit the most complicated structure are called pennes, or contour feather», because they lie on the surface and determine the contour of the ..."

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