Feather development non-nervous. They have a tubular central shaft called the rachis; coming off either side of the rachis are the veins, which have a series of barbs with interlocking connections that are called barbules. The rachis and attached veins make up the spathe. The opposite of the rachis is the calamus, which anchors the feather to the body and is moved by attached dermal muscles. There are many different types of feathers that mostly follow this basic design with few variations based on evolutionary needs. Feathers are sometimes referred to as “elaborate reptile scales” just as birds are sometimes viewed as
What Bird is That? to the League for £300. The book was extolled fulsomely by S.R. Thomas, of the NSW Department of Education, as follows; ""What Bird is That?" is the most comprehensive and informative bird book published in the Commonwealth – if not in the world. The coloured plates are a triumph not only of the genius and imagination of the artist – our own Neville Cayley on whom has fallen so fittingly the mantle of his famous father – but also of the block-maker’s and printer’s art. The publishers have done nothing finer of its kind. The life-like portrayals of our feathered