...flies define our sport and distinguish it from all other fishing pursuits...
Fishing flies come in many shapes and sizes and are used to catch many species of shallow water fishes.  They are usually made to replicate a specific food item sought after by a particular specie.  Flies are made from many different man made and natural materials which are usually attached to a hook with a binding thread.  Great care is used in the selection of these materials.  Each fly must be constructed so that it will look like and move like a prey specie that our quarry fish will eat.  Feathers have always been a favored material for the construction of fishing flies.  Some float, some sink, some are soft, others are stiff. The variations seem endless.  Some are highly prized by fly tiers while others are disdained.  Are our judgments of fly tying feathers real?  What do we really know about them...?

chickabou pelt" actually encompasses most of the feathers from the underneath side of the rooster called the pectoral, sternal and medial abdominal tracts. The various forms and functions of the different feathers from within these tracts have been experimented with by fly tiers and incorporated into a myriad of tying applications.

          Feathers, to the bird, are much more than just for insulation or flight—they have a multiplicity of functions. Some of the major functions of feathers are:

1. Temperature regulation—tight to the body for heat dissipation, or fluffed out for insulation.

2. Protection of the skin—from abrasions and insults by their environment, and shade from UV light damage by the sun.

3. Flight—the primary wing feathers provide propulsion, the secondary wing feathers generation lift.

4. Aerodynamic contour—to streamline the body form to aid smooth passage through the air.

5. Camouflage—especially important in ground nesting species.

6. Sexual selection—particularly evident in males attracting females to mate with. Can be a survival disadvantage (i.e., the huge peacock train); the reproductive imperative over survival.

Minor feathers and functions:

7. Preen gland wick feathers—i.e. cul de canard.

8. Powder feathers—which intentionally disintegrate to provide feather to feather lubrication, electrostatic reduction and water proofing.

9. Ear openings cover feathers—rigid, grill-like feathers which let sound in yet keep debris out.

10. Rictal bristles—whisker-like tactile feathers surrounding the beak; i.e. nighthawks and other  on-the-wing insect catchers.

11. Narial bristles—protect the opening to the nostrils.

12. Whisper feathers—serrated leading edge of primary flight feathers on owls which modifies  air turbulence for silent flight.

          Feathers also have highly specific growth patterns, both on an individual feather basis and over the life time of the bird. First, feathers do not grow as hair does, which is characterized by a continuous extrusion of a relatively constant hair form. Feathers are also extruded by a follicle in the skin but are fundamentally much more complex in form than hair, having a distinct tip, middle and base, often with radical differences between each part. And unlike hair, feather formation continues only until completion, then ceases, until the feather is lost or molted and an entirely new feather is generated. Another important and little appreciated fact is that each indiviual feather follicle has the potential to grow several radically different types of feathers. It starts with the baby chick's natal down, followed by juvenile plumage, then the first basic plumage which is succeeded by the second basic or alternate plumage often called the "nuptial plumage". Dry fly hackle feathers are the male form of the latter plumage type. Although there are many species specific variations to these 4 basic plumage types, this is generally the format and demonstrates the multi-potential abilities of the humble feather follicle. Certainly feathers represent an awesome evolutionary accomplishment when compared to the modest reptilian scale of their origin.

          Enough about feathers in general and onto some of the interesting facts of fly tying feathers.

          Man particularly, over the last several hundred years, has developed a myriad of breeds and varieties within the animals he's domesticated. Man has done so largely by identifying, isolating, stabilizing and perpetuating novel mutations which have arisen in these domestic species over time. Breeds and varieties therefore can be viewed as just stabilized conglomerations of various mutations.

          Plumage colors and patterns amongst the breeds and varieties of domestic chickens are classic examples of such utilization of mutations. The fly tier then makes use of these colors and patterns to create flies to imitate the insects which attract fish. The genetic control of these colors and patterns is a fascinating study in and of itself and in some cases is quite surprising. Take for example the well known fly tying feather pattern of "grizzly". Have you ever wondered how a chicken was induced to grow plumage of regularly alternating bars of black and white? It was a mutation which arose whose mode of action is akin to an auto immune effect whereby the pigment generating cells within the feather follicle (melanocytes for black and pheomelancytes for browns) are periodically wiped out. During the pigment cells' regeneration time the growing feather is devoid of pigment— resulting in the white section of the grizzly. After the cells regenerate but before they are wiped out again the black portion of the grizzly pattern is created in the growing feather. From this mode of action it can be understood that a grizzly is actually a black chicken whose pigment deposition is regularly interrupted rather than a white chicken with periodic bars of black pigment added to it. This is a fundamental mechanism of plumage color and patterns—that colors and patterns are created by the extraction or inhibition of pigments, not by the addition of them. An essentially negative control system.

          An interesting color mutation that is important to fly tying is blue dun. There are several genetic ways to create dun, but the best known is the incompletely dominant gene "Bl" whose mode of action is to markedly reduce the quality or concentration of pigment the melanocytes generate as the feather is formed within the follicle. The Bl gene, or "blue gene" as it is sometimes called, is incompletely dominant, meaning it does not have its full effect unless it has a double dose of the gene, Bl Bl. With a double dose and so it's full effect the chicken is nearly white or white with some splashes of color—Bl Bl, referred to as homozygous dominant. When it's in the homozygous recessive form, bl bl, there is no effect and the chicken is black; no pigment inhibition is occurring. With a mix of dominant and recessive, Bl bl—referred to as heterozygous—there is a partial effect and the black is reduced to a blue or grey color. One limitation of this incomplete dominant mode of gene action is that when two blue dun birds are mated together they will not "breed true," rather their offspring will only result in a ratio of 1/2 blue, 1/4 black and 1/4 white. Only black mated with white generates 100% blues (bl bl x Bl Bl gives only Bl bl).

          One of the most astonishing facts about plumage colors and patterns is that their enormous variation is solely the result of the action and inter-action of only two simple pigments: melanin for the blacks and grays and pheomelanin for the browns, buffs and creams. The modification of these pigments (i.e. dilution, as in dun), and their placement within the feather (i.e. barring, as in grizzly) together and separately are capable of generating the fabulous diversity of colors and patterns within the bird world. The only other pigment capable of being generated in feathers is green, and that ability is limited solely to some parrot-like families of birds.

          The iridescence of feathers, as in peacock herl, is not actually a product of pigment primarily. Rather, iridescence results from the refraction out through the over coating of feathers of limited bands of light wavelengths giving an effect of brilliant color. Prove this to yourself by holding a Bluebird feather or a Peacock "eye" up to a sunny window and viewing the color of the feather with the sunlight shining through it. The feathers will not be blue or iridescent at all, but rather a dull brown—their true structural color. This experiment demonstrates the difference between transmitted light (passing through the feather) and refracted light (reflecting off of the feather). This refraction out is also why the brilliant iridescence of a hummingbird seems to change color as the relationship between the sun, bird and viewer shifts with any movement. The wavelengths of refracted light received by the viewer is what's shifting, not the actual color of the hummingbird. Plumage is truly a wonder of the world.  

If you are a fly tier and want to view an amazing collection of feathers:
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