Definition

Noun: A flight feather is any of the large, stiff feathers on the wings or tail of a bird that are essential for flight. These feathers provide the necessary aerodynamic surface and thrust.

Usage

The term "flight feather" is used specifically in ornithology and general descriptions of birds to refer to the primary structural feathers used for flying. It is a countable noun.

Examples

• The eagle's flight feathers were damaged, preventing it from hunting effectively.
• During molting, a bird sheds and regrows its flight feathers.
• The museum displayed a specimen showing the detailed structure of a primary flight feather.

Advanced Usage

• Technical Context: In precise anatomical terms, flight feathers are categorized as remiges (on the wings) and rectrices (on the tail).
  • The study focused on the asymmetry of the remiges, or primary flight feathers.

Variants and Related Words

• Primary Feather (Primary): The outermost flight feathers on a bird's wing, attached to the manus (hand bones), crucial for thrust.
• Secondary Feather (Secondary): The flight feathers on a bird's wing attached to the ulna (forearm bones), important for lift.
• Tail Feather (Rectrix): Any of the flight feathers forming the tail, used for steering and braking.
• Remex (pl. Remiges): The technical term for a wing flight feather.
• Contour Feather: The general category of feathers that includes flight feathers and gives a bird its streamlined shape.

Synonyms

• Quill feather
• Remex (technical)
• Rectrix (technical, for tail feathers)

Related Phrases/Compounds

• Flight feather molt: The process of shedding and regrowing flight feathers, which often occurs in a specific sequence.
  • The duck was in flight feather molt and could not fly.
• Pin feather (Blood feather): A new, developing feather that has a blood supply, which will eventually become a mature flight or contour feather.

Noun

1. any of the larger wing or tail feathers of a bird