Modified feathers

Contour feathers may be modified to form:

• "horns", as in the Horned Lark
• crests, as in the Cedar Waxwing
• ruffs, as in the Ruffed Grouse
• pinnae, as in the Greater Prairie Chicken
• "ears" and facial discs, as in the Great Horned Owl
• the speculum on the secondaries of several ducks &
• rictal bristles, as in the Brown Thrasher & Whip-poor-will

See the Patuxent Bird Glossary for definitions of these terms & many others

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