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FEATHERS: A MARVEL OF DESIGN

                                  With a downward thrust of its wings, a seagull launches itself skyward. Once aloft, it wheels and turns, rising effortlessly on the wind. Making only tiny adjustments to the angle of its wings and tail, the bird hangs nearly motionless in the air. What enables it to perform those functions with such grace and perfection? To a great extent, its feathers. Birds are the only animals today that grow feathers. Most birds have different kinds of feathers. The most visible are the overlapping contour feathers, which give birds their smooth, aerodynamic shape. Contour feathers include the wing and tail feathers, which are vital to flight. A hummingbird may have fewer than 1,000 such feathers, and a swan more than 25,000. Feathers are a marvel of design. The central shaft, called the RACHIS, is flexible and remarkably strong. Extending out from it are rows of interlocking BARBS that form the smooth VANE of the feather. The barbs attach to one