[HAM-ya-lus] & [RAY-mus]
Test your bird-nerd vocabulary with this quiz. (Relax. It won’t affect your grade.) : )
Answer True or False—
Hamulus and Ramus are:
I. Founders of Rome. __________________ True or False
II Nominative declension. ______________ True or False
III Characters in a Board game __________ True or False
IV An organic zipper. __________________ True or False
Answers:
I False. But on topic. Romulus and Remus were fed by a woodpecker. (That was after the wolf.)
II True enough. I think. I took Latin in high school. And passed. I think.
III True. Collectable figures in Navia Drapt. Though the Ramus figure is hard to come by.
IV True. The Hamulus is a tiny hook. They (the Hamuli) latch onto their neighbor feathers extending from the Ramos. That way birds can fix ruffled feathers by simply running their beaks down them as they preen.
The rest of the feather is made up of Barbules (tiny specialized feathers), a Rachis (shaft) and a Calamus (quill). The parts are structured this way:
The Hamulus connected to the Barbule.
The Barbule connected to the Ramus.
The Ramus connected to the Rachis.
The Rachis connected to the Calamus.
And that’s the quill, that’s the quill. : )
And what's the importance of all this? (Besides for birds)? Quill pens.
We can thank feathers for the Magna Carta,The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution. That’s what.
Not to mention, without it Ben Franklin couldn’t have paid his bills. : )
