Mapping feather vane structure across the avian wing: spatial variation, asymmetry, and the effect of flight style
Abstract
Flight feather vanes are the primary aerodynamic surface of the avian wing. Because loading varies across the wing, vane macrostructure should co-vary with local mechanical demands, yet comparative data on how barb and barbule traits change among remiges and between vane surfaces remain scarce. We quantified barb density, barbule density, barb angle, barb length, and vane width on both vanes at three measurement positions along the rachis of all remiges in four species with contrasting flight modes (white stork, common buzzard, house sparrow, pygmy cormorant), generating over 40,000 measurements across 15 response variables from 992 feathers of 41 individuals. Two complementary generalised additive models characterised variation along the spanwise, inter-vane, and longitudinal axes, and compared outer primaries, inner primaries, and secondaries as functional wing regions. Feather macrostructure varied along all three axes and outer primaries represent the most distinctive region, with lower leading-vane barb density, reduced barb angles, and vane width asymmetry two to three times higher than in inner primaries or secondaries. House sparrow exhibited the densest vane architecture and the highest vane width asymmetry, whereas the low wing-beat frequency species showed complex nonlinear spanwise patterns undetectable by single-feather sampling. Pygmy cormorant barbule density was 39–53% lower than in all other species, matching its wettable plumage strategy. Longitudinal gradients in barb density and barb angle (22–31% decline) were conserved across species. The avian wing is thus functionally regionalised at the macrostructural level, with vane architecture reflecting both aerodynamic and ecological pressures. Summary statement Fine-scale vane measurements across all remiges in four species show macrostructural regionalisation of the avian wing, with outer primaries showing the most distinctive vane architecture.
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BibTeX
@misc{osvath2026mapping,
title = {{Mapping feather vane structure across the avian wing: spatial variation, asymmetry, and the effect of flight style}},
author = {Gergely Osváth and Dragomir-Cosmin David and Dorottya Vargancsik and László-Jácint Nagy and Andrea Fehér and Zsolt Kovács and Ádám Zoltán Lendvai and Orsolya Vincze and Robert Nudds and Csongor Vágási and Péter Pap},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.64898/2026.06.08.730791},
url = {https://univ-rochelle.hal.science/hal-05749548v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Mapping feather vane structure across the avian wing: spatial variation, asymmetry, and the effect of flight style
AU - Gergely Osváth
AU - Dragomir-Cosmin David
AU - Dorottya Vargancsik
AU - László-Jácint Nagy
AU - Andrea Fehér
AU - Zsolt Kovács
AU - Ádám Zoltán Lendvai
AU - Orsolya Vincze
AU - Robert Nudds
AU - Csongor Vágási
AU - Péter Pap
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/11
PB - HAL
DO - 10.64898/2026.06.08.730791
UR - https://univ-rochelle.hal.science/hal-05749548v1
AB - Flight feather vanes are the primary aerodynamic surface of the avian wing. Because loading varies across the wing, vane macrostructure should co-vary with local mechanical demands, yet comparative data on how barb and barbule traits change among remiges and between vane surfaces remain scarce. We quantified barb density, barbule density, barb angle, barb length, and vane width on both vanes at three measurement positions along the rachis of all remiges in four species with contrasting flight modes (white stork, common buzzard, house sparrow, pygmy cormorant), generating over 40,000 measurements across 15 response variables from 992 feathers of 41 individuals. Two complementary generalised additive models characterised variation along the spanwise, inter-vane, and longitudinal axes, and compared outer primaries, inner primaries, and secondaries as functional wing regions. Feather macrostructure varied along all three axes and outer primaries represent the most distinctive region, with lower leading-vane barb density, reduced barb angles, and vane width asymmetry two to three times higher than in inner primaries or secondaries. House sparrow exhibited the densest vane architecture and the highest vane width asymmetry, whereas the low wing-beat frequency species showed complex nonlinear spanwise patterns undetectable by single-feather sampling. Pygmy cormorant barbule density was 39–53% lower than in all other species, matching its wettable plumage strategy. Longitudinal gradients in barb density and barb angle (22–31% decline) were conserved across species. The avian wing is thus functionally regionalised at the macrostructural level, with vane architecture reflecting both aerodynamic and ecological pressures. Summary statement Fine-scale vane measurements across all remiges in four species show macrostructural regionalisation of the avian wing, with outer primaries showing the most distinctive vane architecture.
ER -