Aussie Finch Forum

I was recently reading Don Crawford's website, I like his philosophy of back crossing his mutations to quality normal birds.

In his article on a Gouldian standard I came across this "It would be amiss of me not to mention a peculiarity that very few breeders are aware of and is related to only the very absolute top feathered birds. I have never heard it discussed or even seen it written in any book or magazine. This phenomenon I call the “Marker Hair”. As the name suggests, it is a marker for a bird that has PERFECT FEATHER QUALITY!!!"
I had not previously heard of this "marker hair" and to my knowledge never seen it.
Here is the article http://australiangouldian.com/articles- ... -standard/
What are other peoples views ?
Is it something you see in your birds and does it indicate superior feather quality ?

Cheers
Brett

Yes. Very rare on Gouldians these days. Common on most red & green Strawbs, Melbas, occasionally Cordons & various other finches when freshly moulted new plumage is in very good condition.

Well . .

You live and you learn

Strawbs (Red & Green) both also commonly have them around their cloaca too.

Well I'll be b'd, do you need a magnifying glass to see this? Craig

No. they just look like a dark hair which sticks out 10-15mm beyond the plumage. Those with Red Strawbs particularly (most common species to have marker hairs), check the nape (usually 1-3) & vent area (up to 5-6 fine dark hairs protruding).

I have done a bit of research on this
Technically these feathers are called filoplumes
Apparently all birds have them and they are common about the wing area but too short to be seen

From a text book
"Filoplumes are long, hairlike feathers that monitor the position of the pennaceous feathers, as those of the wings and tail. Sensory corpuscles at the base of each filoplume detect fine movements of the filoplume shaft. Filoplumes are often numerous at the bases of wing remiges to monitor the position an movement of the remiges during flight. In many passerines, they also protrude through the outer contour feathers of the crown and nape, perhaps warning the bird when wind disrupts the smoother outer surface of the plumage. "

So it would appear they have a sensory function, but the function of the long ones at the nape of the neck is unclear.

Tiaris, when you said "very rare in Gouldian's these days" , were you suggesting that they were more common in the past or always rare.

Merry Xmas all

Never common at all in Gouldians Brett, but I haven't seen many on Gouldians for a few years. I put that down to the more domesticated recent strains of Gouldians in captivity generally being a bit bigger in the body which usually comes about or is selected for by breeding from more "buff" feathered birds to display the desired body type. All Gouldians I have seen with "marker hairs" were intensive/non-frosted feather structure birds which are generally on the smaller side and have very vivid colour definition (most such specimens usually also show the orange/red fusion bar very well on the chest as well)

Maybe a lesson in breeding buff to "yellow" feather type at least 20% of the time? Canary and Budgie breeders have found that over"buffing" causes feather cysts (occasionally) and will reduce fertility due to too much feather in the way when the birds try to copulate.
LML

Yep. The "yellow" ones also pass on colour intensity - a vital Gouldian trait.