noun
- A slender, hair-like feather with a shaft and a tuft of barbs at the tip, found on birds and used for sensory perception.
Usage: ornithology; also called a filoplume feather
Examples
- The bird's filoplumes help it sense changes in air movement and maintain balance during flight.
- Filoplumes are distributed across a bird's body beneath the contour feathers.
- Unlike down feathers, filoplumes have a distinct shaft and a small tuft at the end.
- Ornithologists study filoplumes to understand how birds perceive their environment.