Saturday, February 6, 2010

Auklets and penguins: birds use feathers 'to touch'

By Matt Walker
Editor, Earth News

Whiskered auklet
A whiskered auklet feels in the dark

Birds may use their feathers for touch, using them to feel their surroundings just as cats use their whiskers.

 

The revelation that feathers have this hitherto unknown function comes from research on auklets, birds that sport prominent plumes on their heads.

Posted via email from Garth's posterous

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