atomfullerene t1_ixtzgm4 wrote
Feathers are not alive, they are nonliving keratin structures, like hair. Because of this, they have to keep their color when not alive in order to continue to function...a bird with feathers that faded in color would rapidly fade in color itself. As a result of this, birds need to use stable pigments and structural colors to maintain their color during the ordinary course of living. And what works when the feather is still attached to the bird works just as well when it has come off, because to the feather itself, it's all the same.
bremstar OP t1_ixunl12 wrote
This raises another question then; how do feathers and hair grow since they're not living? Obviously they carry DNA.. so I'm assuming at some point during their growth they die off and carry the genetic sequence or something?
atomfullerene t1_ixusr28 wrote
They are both formed by skin cells laying down protein in precise patterns. The dna comes from the living cells at the root of the hair. For feathers, i suspect it similarly comes from cells or the remains of cells at the root and/or pulp of the feather
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