Day Eight - Pinfeathers

The baby starlings are officially one week old today. They have pinfeathers all over them now. I never knew why they were called pinfeathers, but I do now, and I feel like an idiot. The feathers are encased in a cuticle, so they look like long, straight pins. You can see a close up of the pinfeathers in the next photo. I imagine the feathers are all rolled up inside the cuticle, and I suppose when they get big enough the cuticle will wear off or break and there will be there feathers. To be honest though, I really don't know. The cuticle is much harder than the ones on your fingernails, in fact its more comparable to nails than skin. And the pointy edges are quite sharp. They even have short little pinfeathers on their little bums, which will eventually become the tail feathers.







You might wonder where the parents of these babies are, and what their reaction is to me being around the nest. The truth is, I have yet to see either parent. They never sit on the nest, not even when the babies were very small. I suppose this is because the nest is in a cavity (like most starling nests) so it is well protected from cold and damp and predators.

I read that baby starlings eat every 20 minutes or so so I imagine the parents are always out getting insects for the babies to eat. The babies are obviously growing and thriving, so I'm not concerned.