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Stinging hair of a nettle
Bird feather with hooks and radii
Did You Know?
Reptiles and birds are very closely
related to each other. The astonish-
ing discovery of a petrified creature
that was a mix between a dinosaur
and a bird plunged the scientific
community into turmoil. The "ar-
chaeopteryx" unites some character-
istics of dinosaurs, such as a tail or
teeth, with the wonderful invention
of the feather in one and the same
animal. But birds' close relationship
to the dinosaurs is visible even in
birds living today: Their feet are,
like the entire body of a reptile, cov-
ered with scales.
The Dream of Flight
Time and time again, nature has brought forth creatures that have been able to
lift themselves off of the ground and glide through the air. But birds are the only
ones among them that have truly been able to conquer the skies. There move-
ment is like a beautiful art form to us humans. Have you ever watched swallows
in their swift flight on a warm summer evening? Or the elegant sailing flight of
large sea birds such as gulls or terns? A bird's body structure has many peculiarities
that make this enviable manner of locomotion possible. The characteristic that you
surely think of first — and rightly so — is the feathers.
A feather is an amazingly light and, very often, wonderfully colorful natural
structure. Using the microscope, you can learn more about its microstructure.
When you stroke downward with your fingers along a bird feather, the individual
feather segments are separated from each other. If you stroke in the opposite
direction, then the gaps are closed again. How is it that the individual barbs stick
together? In the microscopic image, you can see that the barbs are joined together
with tiny hooks.
What's Fowl Is Fair
You've likely seen how water rolls off the feathers of water fowl. This is be-
cause the birds oil their feathers regularly. Wet feathers would no longer keep
the bird sufficiently warm, and that would be fatal for the bird. But when us-
ing the microscope, the oil is a nuisance, of course — which is why you'll need
the following for this preparation:
• two slides
• the tweezers
• water with a drop of dish washing detergent
• adhesive tape
• a feather
Place a piece of the feather into a drop of the prepared water. The detergent
will prevent too many air bubbles from forming in your preparation. Then
place the second slide on top of this and affix it to the bottom slide using
two strips of adhesive tape. Bringing your object into focus may be somewhat
trickier than usual. Observe your object at low and medium magnifications
and try to make out the hook structures.
Bird feather under the microscope
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