Crest (feathers) Crest (feathers) The crest is a prominent feature exhibited by several bird and other dinosaur species on their heads. The crest is made up of semiplume feathers: a long rachis with barbs on either side. These are plumulaceous feathers, meaning that they are soft and bendable. In birds, these semiplumes are common along the head, neck, and upper back, and may be used for buoyancy and sensing vibrations. Crests on birds are generally used for display purposes. Cockatoos and their smaller cousins, cockatiels, are part of the parrot family Cacatuidae found in Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Philippines, and
Acorus calamus Karpos, of Zephyrus (the West Wind) and Chloris (Spring). When Karpos drowned in a swimming race, Kalamos also drowned and was transformed into a reed, whose rustling in the wind was interpreted as a sigh of lamentation. The plant was a favorite of Henry David Thoreau (who called it "sweet flag"), and also of Walt Whitman, who added a section called the "Calamus" poems, to the third edition of "Leaves of Grass" (1860). In the poems the calamus is used as a symbol of love, lust, and affection. Lewis Carroll uses the plant in "Through the Looking-Glass" as a symbol