Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Northern Flickers from the West are red rather than yellow.) He could tell it was a flight
feather by its stiff shaft and its length: flight feathers, whether from the wing or the tail,
are usually longer than they are wide.
How did he know it was a feather from the wing rather than from the tail? All wood-
pecker tail feathers are straight, fairly symmetric, exceptionally stiff, and the tip tapers to
apoint.Wingfeathersaremoretypicallyfeather-shaped,haveaveryslightcurve,andthe
two
vanes
(thewebbedsidesofthefeather)areasymmetric:theleadingedgeofaprimary
wing feather is narrower than the trailing edge.
So your friend looked at the color and shape to deduce it was a flicker's wing feather,
andputtheyellowsidedowntoseewhichwaythefeathercurvedandwhichwasthenar-
row leading edge to tell whether it came from the right or left wing.
INSPECTOR CLAW-SEU
As with any fibers found at a crime scene,
feathers can provide important circum-
stantial evidence in murder investigations.
Prominent Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) hair and fiber expert Douglas
Deedrick worked extensively with the world's most famous feather authority, the late
Roxie Laybourne, to develop a permanent slide mounting medium that made it possible
toestablish microscopic data ontens ofthousands offeathers. Sheinturnhelped him for
decades by examining and identifying feather evidence for FBI cases.
Although feathers aren't found in nearly as many investigations as other fibers (in-
cluding hair), her services were used in as many as a dozen robbery, kidnapping, and
murdercaseseachyear.Shealsoidentifiedfeathersimplicatedinairplanecollisionswith
birds.Mrs.LaybournespenthercareerwiththeSmithsonianMuseumofNaturalHistory,
whereshecouldcomparefeathersampleswiththehugecollection housedtheretoverify
her identifications.
