Feather Research Articles

A 19th Century Stormwrecked Black-Capped Petrel From Vermont Offers Insight Into Historical Vagrancy Processes.

Specimens stored within museum collections are increasingly leveraged to reconstruct historical baselines to both decipher the legacies of past anthropogenic impacts and anticipate the consequences of future climate change on species distributions. However, the research significance of such collections can be severely constrained based on their curation histories, resulting in data being forgotten, if not lost entirely. In this Nature Note, we report the unexpected presence of a mislabeled Black-capped Petrel (Pterodroma hasitata) specimen in the historical Middlebury College Vertebrate Natural History collection, potentially representing the rediscovery of a lost specimen reported from Vermont following the 1893 New York City Hurricane. We conducted archival research at multiple institutions to substantiate the reporting of a Black-capped Petrel specimen that was "missing" from Vermont in 1893, as noted in the Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas. We further substantiated the 19th-century age of this specimen through X-ray fluorescence analysis of mercury and arsenic of more than 200 whole bird bodies and feathers across the majority of the Middlebury College collection as part of an environmental health and safety assessment. This record expands the known vagrant range of the Black-capped Petrel. This research likewise highlights the critical role of small museum collections play in piecing together historical datasets and informing modern conservation, emphasizing the importance of their preservation and digitization.

Diagnosis and management of allergic rhinitis in pediatric patient: A case report

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a prevalent chronic condition affecting children and adults worldwide, with significant impacts on quality of life and daily functioning. Accurate diagnosis and effective management are essential to mitigate symptoms and improve outcomes. Objective: To report a case of allergic rhinitis in pediatric patient. Case Report: A 7-year-old female presented with a one-year history of left nasal obstruction, intermittent nasal bleeding, rhinorrhea, and sneezing exacerbated by dust exposure. History of allergy was present in family. Nasal endoscopy revealed mucosal erythema, congested turbinates, anterior septal deviation, and Grade IV adenoid enlargement. A skin prick test (SPT) identified sensitization to house dust (++++), bird feathers (++++), cat fur (+++), and specific foods. Normal eosinophil levels were noted. The patient was diagnosed with persistent moderate-to-severe allergic rhinitis and was treated with cetirizine, intranasal fluticasone furoate, and saline nasal irrigation, with significant symptom improvement at follow-up. Clinical question: What is the optimal management approach for allergic rhinitis in pediatric patient? Methods: A review of evidence-based literature on the management of allergic rhinitis in pediatric patient. Result: Clinical history, physical examination, and SPT are important for diagnosing allergic rhinitis. Management guidelines recommend intranasal corticosteroids as first-line therapy for moderate-to-severe cases, supported by antihistamines and allergen avoidance. Conclusion: This case underscores the importance of a tailored, evidence-based approach in managing pediatric allergic rhinitis. Accurate diagnosis, pharmacotherapy with cetirizine and fluticasone, adjunctive saline irrigation, and allergen avoidance led to rapid symptom resolution. These strategies align with ARIA guidelines and demonstrate the efficacy of multidisciplinary management in achieving optimal outcomes.

A preliminary report with new records of feather mites (Acariformes: Astigmata) collected from birds ringed at Boğazkent Bird Ringing Station (Antalya, Türkiye)

Feather mites (Astigmata: Analgoidea, Pterolichoidea) are arthropods that live parasitically or commensal on the wing, tail and body feathers of birds. These mites have high host specificity and diversity. Here we studied feather mites collected from birds subjected to ectoparasitic examination during ringing at the Boğazkent Bird Ringing Station (Antalya, Türkiye). Feather mite infestation was detected in 50 of 103 hosts representing 30 species during the study. As a result of microscopic examinations, 16 feather mites were identified, five of which are new records for Türkiye: Dermonoton parallelus (Mégnin and Trouessart, 1884), Gymnolichus secundus Černý and Schumilo, 1973, Proctophyllodes anthi (Vitzthum, 1922), Pteronyssus robini (Faccini and Atyeo, 1981), and Pteroherpus africanus Mironov and Kopij, 2000. Additionally, new host-parasite associations for the feather mite fauna of Türkiye were revealed in the species Dolichodectes edwardsi (Trouessart, 1885), P. clavatus Fritsch, 1961, P. pinnatus (Nitzsch, 1818), and Trouessartia kratochvili Černý, 1979.

Controlled layer-by-layer assembly and structured coloration of Ti3C2Tz MXene/polyelectrolyte heterostructures

Structural color arises from light scattering rather than organic pigments and can be found in Nature, such as in bird feathers and butterfly wings. Synthetic materials can mimic Nature by leveraging materials with contrasting optical characteristics by controlling each materials’ spatial arrangement in a heterostructure. Two-dimensional MXene nanosheets are particularly interesting due to their unique optical properties, but MXenes have not been used directly as a structural colorant because it is challenging to control the spatial placement of MXenes at the nanometer level. Here, we report the emergence of structural color in layer-by-layer (LbL) assemblies of Ti3C2Tz MXene nanosheets and polyelectrolyte heterostructures with controlled block thicknesses. The block thickness and spatial placement of MXene are controlled by the assembly’s salt concentration and number of layer pairs. This work demonstrates that optical characteristics of MXene/polyelectrolyte heterostructures depend on MXene content and placement, while deepening the understanding of MXenes within structural color films.

Appearance Modeling of Iridescent Feathers with Diverse Nanostructures

Many animals exhibit structural colors, which are often iridescent, meaning that the perceived colors change with illumination conditions and viewing perspectives. Biological iridescence is usually caused by multilayers or other periodic structures in animal tissues, which selectively reflect light of certain wavelengths and often result in a shiny appearance---which almost always comes with spatially varying highlights, thanks to randomness and irregularities in the structures. Previous models for biological iridescence tend to each target one specific structure, and most models only compute large-area averages, overlooking spatial variation in iridescent appearance. In this work, we build appearance models for biological iridescence using bird feathers as our case study, investigating different types of feathers with a variety of structural coloration mechanisms. We propose an approximate wave simulation method that takes advantage of quasi-regular structures while efficiently modeling the effects of natural structural irregularities. We further propose a method to distill our simulation results into distributions of BRDFs, generated using noise functions, that preserve relevant statistical properties of the simulated BRDFs. This allows us to model the spatially varying, glittery appearance commonly seen on feathers. Our BRDFs are practical and efficient, and we present renderings of multiple types of iridescent feathers with comparisons to photographic images.

Погляд усередину: гніздові матеріали і деякі закономірності гніздової біології коноплянки Linaria cannabina (Linnaeus, C 1758) на Львівщині

The article deals with some aspects of the nesting biology of Linnaria cannabina (Linnaeus, C 1758) in Lviv region. The question of placement, the composition of the nests and the factors that affect this is revealed. The material for writing this article was the data of the Bank of bird nests of Western Ukrainian Ornithological Society (ZUOT) (n=181) and own data (n=18) for 40 years (from 1973 to 2012). Nests were collected in different biotopes and, depending on the distance to the human settlement, were divided into three groups (within settlements, on their outskirts and far beyond in natural biotopes). It was found that for the placement of nests, the common linnet often chooses coniferous (mainly young spruce, thuja or juniper). Among deciduous found trees, a significant variety of bushes and twisted vines (ivy). To choose a place for linnet nest, the architectonics of the aboveground part of the plant is important, so even trees were chosen that are similar to bushes. Very often common linnet places nests in various hedges (spirea, acacia yellow, etc.). Probably due to the fact that the nest is well disguised, its placement height is small (0.2–2.2 m, on average 1.10±0.03 m). The main materials that L. cannabina chooses to build nests are typical of birds of this species in Europe. Linnet nests consisted of plant (in 100 % of the studied nests), animal (98.4 %) and sometimes (23.2 %) materials of anthropogenic origin. From plant materials, linnet most often chose for the nest the roots and stems of herbaceous plants, less often the branches and leaves of trees, plant fluff and moss. Among the materials of animal origin, animal hair and bird feathers were often found in the lining of the nest. Some of the nests contained components of anthropogenic origin (СAО) in different quantities (most often cotton wool). The basic nesting materials of the linnet in Lviv region were small roots and stems of single- and dicotyledonous herbaceous plants, and in the inner part – hair of mammals, feathers of birds, cotton wool. The presence of CAO in bird nests depends on the distance to human settlements and the time of nest construction. In the last couple of decades, the frequency of use of CAO in the nests of the linnet has increased rapidly, which may indicate a growing environment pollution, as well as, perhaps, the habituation to use such materials by common linnet.

Plumage polymorphism in the black sparrowhawk (Accipiter melanoleucus) is strongly associated with the expression level of agouti signaling protein

Abstract Melanin-based plumage polymorphisms in birds are often associated with mutations in the melanogenesis genes, notably the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R), but may also arise through changes in the expression of these genes. Here we investigate the molecular basis of plumage polymorphism in both adult and juvenile black sparrowhawks (Accipiter melanoleucus), an African raptor that occurs in two adult color morphs, light and dark, and also exhibits variation in juvenile plumage coloration. Our results confirmed that plumage differences in adult morphs were a result of differential deposition of eumelanin in their ventral contour feathers. No polymorphisms in the coding regions of the MC1R or the agouti signaling protein (ASIP) genes associated with adult color morph were identified. However, lack of pigmentation in the developing breast feathers of light morph birds was strongly associated with elevated ASIP expression, and concomitant downregulation of the downstream melanogenesis genes microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosinase (TYR), and tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1). Variation in the rufous colored plumage of juveniles was found to be due to covariation in eumelanin and pheomelanin levels in dorsal and ventral contour feathers. As in adult birds, an inverse relationship between melanin pigmentation and ASIP expression was observed. This covariation between eumelanin and pheomelanin levels is not consistent with the pigment type-switching model of melanogenesis, where increased ASIP expression results in a switch from eumelanin to pheomelanin production. This highlights the need for caution when extrapolating results from model systems to other animals and the value of conducting research in wild species.

Highly protective and functional strengthening strategies for 3D printed continuous carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites: Manufacturing and properties

Highly protective and functional strengthening strategies for 3D printed continuous carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites: Manufacturing and properties

Exploring the potential of Desert Rose fibers (Adenium obesum) for the remediation of oil-contaminated sites

Exploring the potential of Desert Rose fibers (Adenium obesum) for the remediation of oil-contaminated sites

Noise reduction of an airfoil model covered by bio-inspired herringbone riblets

It is curious that whether the typical herringbone pattern of bird flight feathers plays a role in attenuating aeroacoustic noise. Being motivated by this, experiments are conducted to investigate noise reduction of the NACA0012 (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) airfoil-based model with one side surface covered by bio-inspired herringbone patterns of riblets. The herringbone-ribbed surface is defined by the divergent angle β (= 60°) of the riblets pattern, the spanwise wavelength λ (= 0.2c and 0.4c) of the pattern, and the riblet height h (= 0.6%c and 1.2%c), where c is the chord length of the airfoil. While far-field sound pressure fluctuations are measured via microphones in an anechoic wind tunnel, flow fields around the model are captured using particle image velocimetry (PIV) in a water tunnel. The effective angle of attack of the test models ranges from αeff = −11.1° to 11.1° and Reynolds number considered is from Re = 2.3 × 105 to 7.8 × 105. Compared with the baseline smooth models, the models with the riblet pattern on the pressure side are able to substantially suppress the tonal noise, associated with considerable reduction in the overall noise. The reduction in the overall sound pressure levels of the tonal noise and the overall noise are up to 21.3 dB and 20.5 dB, respectively, at αeff = −2.2° and Re = 3.6 × 105. The noise reduction is attributed to the transition of laminar to turbulent boundary layers over the herringbone-ribbed surface, particularly in the saddle location where the spanwise-repeated herringbone pattern converges. Behavior of shear layers separating from the trailing edge of the model is examined, corroborating the proposition that the acoustic feedback loop is impaired by the herringbone-ribbed surface.

The Diet of Eleonora’s Falcons (Falco eleonorae) during the Autumn Migration of Passerine Birds across the Aegean Sea

Every year, several hundred million birds cross the Mediterranean on their migration from Eurasia to their wintering quarters in Africa. As many migrants travel at night or at high altitudes, direct observations of bird migration are difficult and thus our information about migrating species, numbers and timing is incomplete. An indirect way to assess autumn migration is the analysis of prey remains of Eleonora’s Falcons (Falco eleonorae). These falcons breed in large colonies on islands in the Mediterranean and on the Canary Islands. Many migrants have to pass these islands on their flight to their African wintering quarters. Eleonora’s Falcons appear to be adapted to the autumn bird migration and raise their young between August and October, when migrating birds are abundant. When nestlings have to be fed, falcons exclusively hunt small birds of 10 to 150 g body mass, whereas they prey mostly on aerial invertebrates (Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, Orthoptera, Hemiptera, Odonata, Lepidoptera) from November to July. We studied Eleonora’s Falcons from 1965 to 2001 on a rocky islet, north of Crete, which harboured a colony of about 200 breeding pairs. In 1969, 1971, 1977, and 1988 we systematically monitored and collected the pluckings and cached food items in 22 to 36 nest sites each year. Pluckings were systematically analysed later in Germany using a reference collection of bird feathers for identification. In total, we determined more than 111 prey species (mostly Passerines) comprising more than 13,450 individuals. The top 12 prey species were: Willow Warbler (27.8% of all prey items), Red-backed Shrike (10.7%), Spotted Flycatcher (9.9%), Whinchat (8.8%), Common Whitethroat (5.1%), Wood Warbler (3.8), Tree Pipit (2.9%), Icterine Warbler (2.5%), Greater Short-toed Lark (2.5%), Northern Wheatear (1.8%), Common Nightingale (1.6%), and European Pied Flycatcher (1.5%). Eleonora’s Falcons are selective hunters to some degree; thus, the phenology and abundance data derived from the plucking analyses are biased towards slow-flying species or smaller birds (only up to a body mass of 150 g). When the young falcons develop and grow, food demand increases concomitantly. Comparing the total weight of prey over time indicates a correlation with food demand and in consequence with the number of prey items brought to the nest sites by the falcons.

Biomonitoring of Selected Heavy Metals Using House Sparrow (Passer Domesticus) Residing in Tehran, Iran

he present study aimed to determine the concentration of heavy metals (lead, cadmium and nickel) in the external and internal body tissues of house sparrow (Passer domesticus) living in Tehran, Iran, as a biological monitoring and also to identify possible sources of these pollutants. One of the challenges of this research was sampling and determining the population of city sparrows. The concentration of these heavy metals (in mg/kg) was measured in feather, muscle, blood, adipose tissue and diet samples of birds collected by systematic sampling (n = 96) from selected parks in the north, south, west and east of the city using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) under optimal measurement conditions. Based on the results, the unwashed feather samples showed the highest concentration for cadmium, as Cd (449.23)> Ni (4.12)> Pb (3.67), and the washed feather samples indicated that the highest concentration of cadmium in the northern (456.75) and southern (449.23) regions. The concentration of lead in most of the regions had relatively similar values, but it was higher in the northern (5.11) and southern (3.67) regions. The highest concentration of nickel was related to the eastern (29.76) and western (9.76) regions. The comparison of our results reveals the correlation between the concentration of heavy metals studied in different tissues of house sparrows and the distribution of polluting sources in Tehran in terms of traffic load, the establishment of gas stations and industrial pollution transfer routes.To conclude, house sparrow can be used as a suitable biological indicator in determining the distribution of changes in the concentration of some heavy metals.

Biomimetic Colored Coating toward Robust Display under Hostile Conditions.

Structural colors particularly of the angle-independent category stemming from wavelength-dependent light scattering have aroused increasing interest due to their considerable applications spanning displays and sensors to detection. Nevertheless, these colors would be heavily altered and even disappear during practical applications, which is related with the variation of refractive index mismatch by liquid wetting/infiltrating. Inspired by bird feathers, we propose a simple deposition toward the coating with angle-independent structural color and superamphiphobicity. The coating is composed of ∼200 nm-sized channel-type structures between hollow silica and air nanostructures, exhibiting a robust sapphire blue color independent of intense liquid intrusion, which duplicates the characteristics of the back feather of Eastern Bluebird. A high color saturation and superamphiphobicity of the biomimetic coating are optimized by manipulating the coating parameters or adding black substances. Excellent durability under harsh conditions endows the coating with long-term service life in various extreme environments.

Evaluating washing techniques to eliminate external contamination of trace elements in bat fur and bird feathers

Non-invasive proxies, such as fur and feathers, are likely to be increasingly used to assess the potential exposure of chemicals, including trace metals and metalloids. However, the amount of external contamination is usually unknown, and there is no standard method for removing external contamination of trace metals in fur or feathers. To date, 40 % of studies published related to the measurement of trace metal levels in fur or the hair of non-human mammals and 24 % of studies in feathers do not state any washing methods or did not wash the samples before analysis. We assessed three washing techniques to remove external contamination of arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) from bat fur. We selected the three most frequently used fur washing methods from literature. To test these methods, fur samples from great flying foxes (Pteropus neohibernicus neohibernicus, n=15 individuals) from Papua New Guinea preserved over eight decades (AMNH, USA) were used. Percentages of trace metal removed are 87.19 % (SD= 12.28), 92.99 % (SD= 5.5) and 88.57 % (SD= 9.33) for As, 54.72 % (SD= 31.64), 55.89 % (SD= 37.87), and 53.93 % (SD= 41.28) for Pb, and 74.03 % (SD= 22.96), 22.93 % (SD= 73), and 24.95 % (SD= 49.5) for Zn using M2, M3, and M4, respectively. We also assessed four washing techniques to remove external contamination of arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), and zinc (Zn) from bird feathers. We identified the four most prevalent washing techniques in the literature used for feathers. We used feathers from the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) and the great blue heron (Ardea herodias) to test these methods. Percentages of trace metal removed are 34.35 % (SD= 44.22), 69.22 % (SD= 36.5), 62.59 % (SD= 48.37), and 80.89 % (SD= 14.54) for As, 66.97 % (SD= 13.26), 29.4 % (SD= 67.06), 49.68 % (SD= 42.33), and 28.88 % (SD= 69) for Hg, and <0 % (SD= 80.1), 0 % (SD= 29.55), 11.23 % (SD= 47.73), and 57.09 % (SD= 21.2) for Zn using M2, M3, M4, and M5, respectively. This study shows the importance of washing fur and feather samples prior to trace metals analyses in ecotoxicology and biomonitoring studies.

Influence of Herringbone Grooves Inspired by Bird Feathers on Aerodynamics of Compressor Cascade under Different Reynolds Number Conditions

Nowadays, high aerodynamic load has made blade separation an issue for compact axial compressors under high-altitude low-Reynolds-number conditions. In this study, herringbone grooves inspired by bird feathers were applied to suppress the suction side separation and reduce loss. To study the effect of bio-inspired herringbone grooves on the aerodynamic performance of compressor cascades, a high subsonic compressor cascade was taken as the research object. Under the conditions of different Reynolds numbers, the effects of herringbone grooves of different depths on the flow separation were numerically studied. The research results show that at a high-Reynolds-number condition (Re = 5.6 × 105), the sawtooth-shaped wake induced by herringbone grooves increases the turbulent mixing loss near the suction surface, and the blade performance deteriorates. At a low-Reynolds-number condition (Re = 1.3 × 105), the span-wise secondary flow and micro-vortex structure induced by the herringbone grooves effectively suppress the laminar separation on the suction surface of the blade, and there is an optimal depth for the herringbone grooves that reduces the profile loss by 8.33% and increases the static pressure ratio by 0.55%. The selection principle of the optimal groove depth with the Re is discussed based on the research results under six low-Reynolds-number conditions.

Physico-chemical Characteristics of Keratin Extracted from Three Commercial Bird Feathers and their Antibacterial Activity

Physico-chemical Characteristics of Keratin Extracted from Three Commercial Bird Feathers and their Antibacterial Activity

Scientific development of badminton shuttlecocks

This paper reviews published works of the field of badminton research within the past 50 years, focusing primarily on the design and flight dynamics of shuttlecocks to identify any knowledge gap. With regards to shuttlecock research, various methodologies involving empirical and theoretical studies including: wind tunnel testing, simulation, shuttlecock design and prototyping, have been presented. To improve the readability, studies are discussed collectively based on the nature of the investigation according to whether empirical and/or combinations of theoretical approaches have been implemented. Upon reviewing the current body of literature, it is believed that there is a lack of emphasis in correlating the structural and aerodynamics aspects of the badminton shuttlecock. Further investigation into the structural mechanics of the bird feathers used for natural feather shuttlecocks may serve as an inspiration in the development of subsequent synthetic shuttlecock designs.

Compound-specific nitrogen isotope of amino acids: Toward an improved understanding of mercury trophic transfer in different habitats

Herein, we investigated the trophic transfer of mercury (Hg) through food chains in different habitats (namely aquatic, riparian, and terrestrial) through bulk stable isotope analysis of nitrogen (δ15Nbulk) and compound-specific isotope analysis of nitrogen in amino acids (δ15NAA) using bird feathers and their potential food sources from a Hg-contaminated site in southwest China. Results showed similar δ15Nphe for water birds (4.7±2.6‰) and aquatic food sources (5.2±2.1‰) and for land-based food sources (10.1±0.4‰) and terrestrial birds (11.6±3.0‰), verifying δ15Nphe as a potential discriminant indicator for different food sources. The trophic positions (TPs) of most organisms based on δ15Nbulk (TPbulk) tended to overestimate compared with those based on δ15NAA (TPAA), especially for predators (such as kingfisher: ΔTP = 1.3). Additionally, significant differences were observed in the aquatic, riparian, and terrestrial food webs between trophic magnification slope (TMS)bulk and TMSAA (p<0.05). The trophic magnification factor (TMF)AA-multiple based on multiple-AAs in three food webs were higher than the TMFAA and TMFbulk, probably because of the greater variation of δ15Nbaseline, complex food sources or the notably different in individual organisms. Altogether, our results improve the understanding of Hg trophic transfer in aquatic, riparian, and terrestrial food webs.

Ecotoxicological consequences of urbanization: A multi-biomarker approach to assessing sewage treatment plant effects on free-living birds

Birds are good bioindicators of disturbance in the environment. They are present in different habitats and trophic levels. In addition, rapid urbanization has led birds to use cities as shelter and for seeking food resources. Sewage treatment plants (STPs) are suitable locations for free-living birds within cities. However, few studies address the impacts of emerging pollutants from sewage treatment plants on wild birds. In this sense, the aim of this study was to analyze the genotoxic, mutagenic, and immunological impacts from metal and pollutant exposure on free-living birds collected at a STP. For comparison, birds were collected in a preserved environment, the Silvania National Forest (FLONA). To achieve this, we used non-destructive biomarkers sensitive to environmental changes. Birds were collected in both environments using mist nets. After collection, birds were weighed, measured, species-identified, and released. Blood was collected for comet assay, micronucleus test, and leukocyte profile, while feathers were collected for metal concentration analysis. Water physicochemical parameters were measured at both sites, and water samples were collected for metal analysis. Our results demonstrated that birds collected at the STP exhibit a higher frequency of genotoxic damage and erythrocyte abnormalities, and increased immune response compared to FLONA birds. Traces of potentially toxic metals, such as Hg and As, were found in the birds feathers from both environments, raising concerns about metal contamination in both environments. Trophic guilds appear to respond similarly to exposure. The parameters and metals found in the water reflect environmental characteristics and may be influencing pollutant availability. Finally, despite the advancement of our findings, studies linking these damages to detrimental effects on behavior and reproduction are encouraged.

The Impact of Avian Haemosporidian Infection on Feather Quality and Feather Growth Rate of Migratory Passerines.

Bird feathers have several functions, including flight, insulation, communication, and camouflage. Since feathers degrade over time, birds need to moult regularly to maintain these functions. However, environmental factors like food scarcity, stress, and parasite infections can affect feather quality and moult speed. This study examined the impact of avian haemosporidian infection and uropygial gland volume, as well as feather quality and feather growth rate in two migratory hirundine species captured in southwestern Spain-the house martin (Delichon urbicum) and sand martin (Riparia riparia). Our findings showed that the prevalence of infection varied among species, with house martins having the highest rates, possibly due to their larger colony size. Moreover, haemosporidian infection had a different impact on each species; infected house martins exhibited lower feather quality than healthy individuals, although this outcome was not observed in sand martins. Furthermore, no effect of infection on feather growth rate was observed in both hirundinids. Additionally, feather growth rate only correlated positively with feather quality in house martins. Finally, no link was observed between uropygial gland volume and feather quality or feather growth rate in any of the species in this study. These findings highlight the effect of haemosporidian infections on the plumage of migratory birds, marking, for the first time, how avian haemosporidian infection is shown to adversely impact feather quality. Even so, further research is needed to explore these relationships more deeply.