A quill pen is a tool used for writing, made from a flight feather of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before other pens were invented. They are still used in calligraphy sometimes. Today, most paper is made from wood plulp. Such papers use the quill rather rapidly. The hollow shaft of the feather (the "calamus") acts as an ink reservoir and ink flows to the tip by capillary action. 