THE USE OF FEATHER ABRASION IN MOULT STUDIES
| Posted: |
09/09/2021 |
| Author(s): |
Danny I. Rogers |
Four stages of leather abrasion have been defined for fully grown feathers; they can be recognized
in the remiges, rectrices, and primary and secondary coverts of most birds. A code is given for each
abrasion stage, allowing abrasion to be recorded in conventional moult formulae. Systematic recording
of abrasion condition may help establish when moult occurs in species for which few other data are
available. Partial and arrested primary moults, staffelmausers and slow continuous primary moults all
produce distinctive patterns of abrasion; all these types of moult need more study. Feather abrasion
can be an indispensable ageing guide in birds in which we have some knowledge of the moult history.
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