Raptor Rehabilitation
of Kentucky

Rescue Line: 502-491-1939

News and Events

March 2012

Raptor Rehab will be hosting a 2 day IWRC Wildlife Rehabilitation course. For more information, view this brochure, and to register, visit The IWRC Website.

January 2012

Black Vultures on the shore Raptor Rehab volunteer Kathy Dennis has an outstanding article about Black Vultures, along with some phenomenol photos.

Black Vultures are smaller than Turkey Vultures, with a 5' wingspan instead of 6'. They have black heads, of course, and a white patch at the tip of each wing. Their tails are shorter, and they have to flap more often than the Turkey Vultures, but they are still good fliers.

They don't have a good sense of smell, but find their food with their excellent eyesight. While a Turkey Vulture can find food by smelling it through the trees, the Black Vulture tends to hunt in river valleys, lowlands and open areas where they have a better field of vision.

You can read the whole article here to learn more about these magnificient birds.

October 2011

Fabulous Feathers

Everyone knows that birds have feathers. In fact, they are the only creatures that have feathers. If you hold out your hand and look at the nails on your fingers, or touch the hair on your head you are seeing and touching the same type of material that feathers are made from - keratin. Keratin is a very strong and also light material. This makes it perfect for birds that need to be light so that they can fly. Besides feathers some other parts of birds are made of keratin, these are their beaks and their talons (claws). Of course, most birds are protected under the federal Migratory Birds Act, and possessing any feathers is prohibited.

Because feathers do so many jobs there needs to be more than one type of feather. Some of them are long and strong for flying and steering. Others are soft and fuzzy, very good for keeping the bird warm. In fact, we have learned to use these soft feathers in our clothing and bedding to help keep us warm. You might have had a down comforter on your bed or wear a down jacket, filled with soft downy feathers, when it is cold outside.

Believe it or not, there are 23 different uses for feathers. You can probably think of many of them, but there are some new ones too! Flight feathers are very strong and stiff feathers found on the wings of birds. Downy feathers as well as Semiplume feathers are able to trap pockets of air close to the bird's body to help keep it warm. How much body heat they keep can be adjusted by arranging their feathers to trap more or less air. If you see birds fluffing their feathers in the cold that is their way of adding extra air to trap body heat and keep warmer. To keep their body temperature steady birds can either expose their heads and feet to cool down, or tuck them into their feathers to help keep warm. When not flying, many birds use their tail feathers as supports when on the ground or climbing the sides of trees such as seen with woodpeckers.

The stronger and ridged contour feathers shield birds from wind. The tough material they are made from, beta-keratin, is water and wear resistant. Darker colored feather might also provide protection from the sun. Keeping them dry in the rain, feathers work to keep water out. The interlocking feather barbs and a special coating that is either oily or waxy create a shield that water runs off.

Some birds use their half-spread out wings in a flying motion to swim in water. Penguins have developed their wings into stiff flat flippers that make them great swimmers. Using the trapped air in downy feathers, water birds like ducks can float on water as well as add protection from cold water.

Some predators, especially owls, have their face feathers arranged like two dishes (facial discs) to collect and channel sounds into their ears so they can more accurately locate prey in the dark. We think of bird sounds either as songs and or calls, but using their feathers they are able to make many different sounds like humming, drumming, and whistling. Birds that hunt at night like owls are able to use their wings to muffle the sound of them approaching their prey. You can think of them as an early stealth fighter plane.

Some birds like herons that hunt for fish in water of lakes and streams will sometimes use their feathers by forming an umbrella over their head. This might make it easier to see fish in the water. Other birds might use feathers located at the side of mouth to select fruits. Some fish eating birds also eat their own feathers to line their digestive area. This helps to protect the bird from sharp fish bones.

Hummingbirds help to pollinate flowers when foraging for sweet nectar when the feathers around their head pick up pollen from a flower that they then transfer to other flowers as they continues looking for more nectar.

Many birds line their nest with bird feathers, especially water birds. This helps to keep the eggs warm and also a soft padding. Some birds like parakeets actually use the feathers located on their bottom and lower back to move grass and leaves to their nest.

Many adult birds when raising eggs and baby chicks will soak their feathers on their belly before returning to the nest. They can then use the water to keep the eggs from drying out and to give their chicks a drink. Some birds that live in the desert like the sandgrouse have special belly feathers that are very good at holding water so that they do not have to nest to close to water holes where there might be more predators.

When birds are attacked or frightened they can drop some of their tail feathers. This is called fright molt. This sometimes help the bird get away from the attacking bird leaving the attacker with only a mouth or feet full of feathers.

Feather color and patterns are used to send signals to mates and rivals. This is likely the largest and most used function of feathers. Sometimes bright colors out is not a good thing. To keep from being seen by predators many birds have feathers that look like dead leaves or other parts of the surroundings they live in for camouflage. Some predators also like to blend in so that their prey may come closer to be more easily caught.

To learn more about feathers, visit http://askabiologist.asu.edu/content/23-functions-feathers