Feather duster budgerigar Feather duster budgerigar Feather duster budgerigars ("Melopsittacus undulatus"), sometimes called budgerigar mops, are budgerigars that have a condition characterised by overly long feathers that do not stop growing at usual periods, giving the bird the appearance of a feather duster. This condition is sometimes known as chrysanthemum feathering. The contour, tail and flight feathers do not stop growing, and they do not have the necessary barbs and barbules for the feather's structure to interlock. The shaft (calamus) is also curved, and so the feathers appear deformed and fluffed out. Individuals with this condition often appear less alert than nest mates.
A Summer Bird-Cage A Summer Bird-Cage A Summer Bird-Cage is the 1963 debut novel by Margaret Drabble published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. The title of the novel is taken from a quotation from the play "The White Devil" by John Webster: ‘"Tis just like a summer bird-cage in a garden: the birds that are without despair to get in, and the birds within despair and are in a consumption for fear they shall never get out." The novel centres on two characters who are sisters, Sarah and Louise. At the beginning of the story Sarah (who has recently graduated from Oxford University) has