FEATHERS A N D P A T T E R N S
9
FIG. 4. A . Enlarged negative silhouette of a part of the vane of the wing primary
feather of a goshawk. The proximal and distal barbules may be seen interlocking
nearly at right angles to each other, vertically and horizontally in the picture.
X 10.
B. Transverse section of part of a wing primary feather cylinder of a Brown
Leghorn capon. Note the complex patterns of keratinization resulting in proximal
(ventral) and distal (dorsal) barbules in each barb ridge, and the differences of
pigment distribution. X 3 5 0 .
plicated by the identification of two of the principal fibrous proteins as
a- and ß-keratin.
The feather is the sum of the debris of some 1.5 χ 107 to 5 χ 109 cells,1
exactly organized and engineered to the utmost precision. In the drying
1 Neck feather of sparrow and tail feather of peacock, respectively.
vores), oils (as in hair and feathers), or other substances. Any search for
uniformity (e.g., Crounse, 1965) in the precise chemical nature of this
complex is almost certainly doomed to failure and must surely spring
from pious hope rather than rational expectation. The situation is com-