[MASSBIRD] A cool tool for identifying flight feathers

[Barbara Volkle]

Thanks to Rick Bowes for this report.

Barbara Volkle
Northborough,MA
bar...@theworld.com

*

From: <rbo...@bowesweb.com>
Subject: A cool tool for identifying flight feathers
Date: Tue, 1 Nov 2022 00:41:17 -0400


Having been presented with some feathers found in the yard and the
inevitable question: "What kind of bird was this?", I responded that based
on the white tips it likely was a Blue Jay. The puzzled rejoinder pointed
out "But it isn't blue, so what else could it be!" and that drove me to the
Internet, where I found a resource that I was totally unaware of: The
Feather Atlas: Flight feathers of North American Birds. For those
unfamiliar with the tool as I was, here's how it led to the right answer.


The Atlas is a searchable image database from the Fish and Wildlife
Service's Forensics Laboratory found at
(https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/index.php). It has an "Identify my
Feather" tool that enabled me to quickly peruse a trove of feather images
and conclusively solve the mystery. The Atlas provides multiple pathways to
explore the database depending on nature of one's search. Here's what
worked for me: After going to
(https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php), I selected "Pattern" and
then "Pale Tip" and then "Find Similar Feathers". I scrolled through the
212 results and quickly found a sure match: Mourning Dove. (The "hit" was
at the end of the selection results which are arranged by scientific name
which in this case is Zenaida macroura). The feather pattern is
distinctive and clearly a match (see my feathers at
https://pbase.com/rickbowes/image/173114704 and click "next" upper right for
a photo of the Atlas entry).


So, if you are stumped by a feather you find while birding or in a yard,
give it a try!

Rick Bowes-

[Spector, David (Emeritus)]

In addition to the USFWS Feather Atlas site (https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/index.php ) mentioned, here are two other useful resources:

The Wing and Tail Image Collection at the Slater Museum of Natural History (https://digitalcollections.pugetsound.edu/digital/collection/slaterwing ), and

Bird Feathers:  A Guide to North American Species by S. David Scott and Casey McFarland, Stackpole Books, 2010.

Also, a reminder that it is illegal to keep most wild bird feathers.

David Spector
Belchertown, Massachusetts