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
What Bird is That? Edition What Bird is That?" was published by Australia's Heritage Publishing in 2011, the latest release of Cayley’s “big bird book” complete with Lindsey’s revisions. It is 832 pages, features 769 birds and includes all 460 of Cayley’s full-colour paintings, many showing groups of related birds. New to this edition was an accompanying e-book "What Bird Call is That?", which identifies and illustrates 101 birds from "What Bird is That?", as well as providing sound files of each featured bird’s distinctive call. The sound files were provided by David Stewart. "What Bird is That?" plays a central role in Australian