pterylosis
English
Noun
pterylosis (plural pteryloses)
- (ornithology) The particular arrangement of feathers on a bird.
- 2006, Ted R. Anderson, Biology of the Ubiquitous House Sparrow:
- In a detailed study of the pterylosis of the genus Passer (with special emphasis on the house sparrow), Clench (1970) identified nine feather tracts: dorsal, scapulohumeral, femoral, ventral, lateral neck, capital, alar, crural, and caudal.
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Usage notes
Pterylosis refers to the arrangement of feathers and how they are implanted in the skin, while ptilosis refers to the properties of the feathers themselves.
Related terms
- ptilosis
Anagrams
- pterolysis