Description

Feather

A greeting card for every day featuring the simplicity of nature embodied in a single feather set against a rich brown background.

What makes feathers so well suited to birds? Well for a start they are made of keratin, the same protein found in human hair and nails. That makes them strong and flexible. They are also produced by birds in a continual cycle. Feathers grow from follicles in the bird’s skin.

Then when the birds moult, as they do periodically and repeatedly, they shed old feathers and grow new ones. And that keeps feathers in tip-top condition on the principle of out with the old and in with the new. Then there’s the way they are constructed, with hollow quills and barbs that keep weight down.

And then of course there is the variety of feathers. Contour feathers cover the body of a bird like a lightweight overcoat. Below the contour feathers are the Down feathers that insulated the body. Then there are flight feathers that help the bird slice through the air like a knife through butter.

All in all feathers make a bird able to fly, to perform for a mate, to keep itself warm, and to give it the colours we know and love.

SKU: C0041