Speculum feathers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A male mallard. The speculum feathers comprise the patch of white-edged blue/black.

The speculum is a patch, often distinctly coloured, on the inner remiges of some birds.

Examples of the colour(s) of the speculum in a number of ducks are:

Bright wing speculums are also known from a number of other birds; among them are several parrots from the genus Amazona with red or orange speculums,[5] though in this case the colors are pigmentary and non-iridiscent.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Dunn, Jon L. and Alderfer, Jonathan (2006). National Geographic Guide to the Birds of North America. National Geographic Society. ISBN 1-4262-0072-2. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Bellrose, Frank C. and The Audubon Society (1983). The Audubon Society Master Guide to Birding. National Geographic Society. ISBN 1-4262-0072-2. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 Madge, Steve; Burn, Hilary (1988). Waterfowl: an Identification Guide to the Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-46727-6. 
  4. Zimmerman, Dale A., Turner, Donald A., and Pearson, David J.; Illustrated by Zimmerman, Dale A., Willis, Ian and Pratt, H. Douglas (1999). Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01022-6. 
  5. Robert S. Ridgely and John A. Gwynne, Jr. (1989). Birds of Panama with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-08529-3. 
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.