By Dr. Biology
There is nothing like seeing a feather up close. To help you do this we borrowed some feathers from some or our scientists and researchers and took pictures with a special scanner and microscope so you can get a close look at them. Click on any of the feathers in the gallery below and then zoom in and explore. We also have a companion story about feathers that you might like to check out.
The black scale bar lines in each image are equal to 10 millimeters (one centimeter).
These feathers were collected by scientists and other researchers that have been granted a permit by the government to collect feathers. In case you did not know, in the United States it is illegal to collect feathers from most birds without a permit. So don't start pulling feathers off every bird you see. You can't even keep a feather you found on the ground. In case you would like to know about the law called, "The Migratory Bird Treaty Act," try out this link.
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