My dad found these feathers in Fountains Abbey a couple of months ago and we can't work out what they're from. Our best guess is tawny owl but we're not sure. Can anyone help?
Thanks
Gill
Hi GillP,
First up, thanks for including the ruler in the photo. makes it so much easier when you know what size the feather is!
As for the bird itself, I don't think it is tawny owl. They have alternate dark and light barring across their feathers, wheras this shows a chevron shape. Instead, I think it is from a pheasant. If you go to the webpage:
http://flandrumhill.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/pheasant-feathers/
you can see a feather that looks rather similar to yours, at the top of the third picture. The size would be about right too.
Have you told George to wake up? www.rspb.org.uk/savingspecialplaces/
Chris, you'rs so knowledgeable about birdies !! I'm making a mental note for when I need your expertise. :)
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I agree in thinking that it looks like the feather of some kind of gamefowl. I'm most inclined to suggest it looks like a juvenile partridge http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/photos/2325.jpg, but the size suggests it is most likely a pheasant feather..
Chris,
Thanks for the reply, I agree the feathers do look the same. So mystery solved.
Hello,
For when our esteemed friends at the RSPB aren't online, there's a brilliant book to help with feather mysteries. It's called The Tracks and Signs of the Birds of Britain and Europe, published by Helm Identification Guides. It has sections on skulls, footprints etc. but is most useful for its massive section on feathers. I love mine so much I've bought copies for my family, which they use regularly too. You can get them in RSPB reserve shops; if they don't have it they can usually order it in - you could get it elsewhere, but it's better that RSPB gets the profits and you can help wildlife at the same time as learning about it.
L.