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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Using a Thermal Camera to Measure Heat Loss Through Bird Feather Coats
Published on: June 17, 2020
The peacock's train (Pavo cristatus and Pavo cristatus mut. alba) II. The molecular parameters of feather keratin
Ingrid M Weiss1, Karl P Schmitt, Helmut O K Kirchner
1INM-Leibniz Institute for New Materials gGmbH (Biomineralization Group), Saarbruecken, Germany. Ingrid.weiss@inm-gmbh.de
Abstract:
Thermal activation analysis of plastic deformation of peacock tail feathers, by temperature changes and stress relaxation, gave for the keratin cortex an activation enthalpy of 1.78 ± 0.89 eV and an activation volume of 0.83 ± 0.13 nm³, for both the blue and the white subspecies. These values suggest that breaking of electrostatic bonds is responsible for plasticity in feather keratin. These might be bonds between keratin and nonkeratinous matrix or keratin-keratin cross-links. The mechanical properties of the rachis cortex are surprisingly uniform along the length of the feathers.
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