Birds have long been our inspiration for flight, and researchers at Princeton University have found a new trick in their arsenal: covert feathers. These small feathers on top of birds’ wings lay ...

Numerous bird species feature small covert feathers layered on their wings. As the name implies, these feathers remain hidden flat against the wing during normal flight but flare to mitigate ...

Scientists now believe that feathers didn’t just appear suddenly in birds. Instead, they evolved step by step from much ...

She noticed small feathers underneath the bird’s wings popping out in unusual ways. Unlike the larger contour and flight feathers that streamline a bird’s body, these covert feathers are ...