Feathers – they are one of the things that makes a bird a bird – and you can learn all about feathers with a free class from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. This self-paced, interactive class is great fun, and exploring the different kinds of feathers will make you a better birder.

For example, when you are trying to identify a bird and your field guide mentions something distinctive about underwing coverts, you need to know where these feathers are located. If you don’t, by the time you look this information up, the bird you were observing may be long gone!

Feathers are just plain fascinating. Most birders would recognize a wing or tail feather, but what about a countour feather or filoplume? The simple, informative illustrations in this free class make it easy to understand how feathers work. You’ll learn how biologists believe feathers evolved (think dinosaur fuzz), find out how feathers grow on today’s birds, meet a feather scientist, and learn some cool words such as pennaceous. There are also some great videos showing birds and their unique feathers.

Have fun with this class and you’ll find yourself having more fun with birds in the field. Oh, and a pennaceous feather is one with a stalk or quill, like the wing and tail feathers you may find on the ground.

Link to the “All About Feathers” class at https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/all-about-feathers/