Found Feathers!©

 

 

Found feathers, photograph by the Author.

Most times when you are out wandering in the wilderness you never see the other inhabitants of the forest, they’re kind of shy.  But you might see evidence of their passing, in their tracks, scat, remains of their meals, tufts of fur and feathers! 

 

Which one is the turkey vulture feather, and which one is the goose feather?  Photograph by the Author.

Have you ever found a feather and wondered which bird it belonged to?  One of these feathers was found along the banks of Cazenovia Creek, near Buffalo New York, a waterway frequented by canada geese (branta canadensis), and the other was found near a roost frequented by turkey vultures (cathartes aura), in southern Ohio.

 

They both are the same gray color, look similar and are about the same size.  Feather A) is 15-½ inches (about 39 cm) long and the quill is ¼ inch (63.5 mm) thick at the base; feather B) is 13-½ inches (about 34 cm) long and the quill is also ¼ inch (63.5 mm) thick at the base.  So, which one is which?  In the picture above, which is from a canada goose, and which is from a turkey vulture?  

 

Don’t you wish there was a simple way to tell them apart?  Well Mother Nature has granted your wish, there IS a simple way to tell them apart!  But first, let’s talk about the anatomy of a feather.

 

The anatomy of a feather...

 

An annotated view of the underside of both feathers, photograph by the Author.

The basic parts of a feather are the “shaft” which is the stiff quill of the feather, from which the feathery “vanes” extend on either side into the inner and outer vanes.

 

What is difference...

There are two ways these feathers different, the underside of the shaft and the presence of a tegmen layer on the goose feather.  So, let’s take a closer look.

 

A close up of the shafts of the feathers, note the groove on the shaft of feather A), photograph by the Author.

In large game birds, such as wild turkeys (meleagris gallopavo), there is a broad “U” shaped channel or groove running along the length of the underside of the feather’s shaft.  This channel is less pronounced in large waterfowl such as the canada goose or swans, like the tundra swan (cygnus columbianus), and is more of a “V” shape; but it is still easily seen on the underside of the shaft.  Birds of prey such as turkey vultures or bald eagles (haliaeetus leucocephalus) lack this channel and instead, their feathers have a fine line on the underside of shaft, that looks as if it has been scratched on with a pin, or maybe a narrow groove, that appears to have been cut into the shaft with a sharp knife.

 

A close up of the tegmen patch on feather A, note it is absent on feather B, photograph by the Author.

If the feather you have found has a shiny, waxy-looking patch on the underside of the outer vane, along the shaft, then it is probably from a duck, a goose, or a swan.  This waxy layer on the vane provides structural support and is called “tegmen”. 

 

So, which is which?

 

Feather A has a broad channel on the underside of its shaft and a layer of tegmen along the shaft on the feather’s underside.  Feather B lacks both of these telltale clues.

 

So which feather do you think is from the turkey vulture, feather A or feather B?

 

If you guessed that feather B was from the turkey vulture, then you are correct!  Feather A is the primary feather of a Canada goose.  And now you know how to tell what bird a feather belongs to and who has passed through the wilderness before you!

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “The Survival Uses of Aluminum Foil ©”, where we will talk about aluminum foil, how much you should you carry and what you can use it for in a survival situation.

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Sources

 

Trail, Pepper, W; Identification of Eagle Feathers and Feet: Identification Guides for Wildlife Law Enforcement No. 3, [USFWS, National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory, Ashland, OR, 2003] https://www.originalwisdom.com/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2019/03/Trail_2003_Identification-of-eagle-feathers-and-feet.pdf, August 23, 2022

 

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services, Forensics Laboratory; “Identify Feather: Determining  Feather Position, February 28, 2020, [U.S. Department of the Interior], https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idposition.php, accessed September 10, 2022

 

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services, Forensics Laboratory; “Feather Terms and Illustrations”, February 28, 2020, [U.S. Department of the Interior], https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/glossary.php, accessed September 10, 2022