Wing Feathers - The Fly Tier's Benchside Reference - page 09
Wing Feathers
Like a human arm, a bird wing consists of three jointed sections, which correspond in human anatomy to the upper arm, the forearm, and the hand (which on a bird are the bones of the wing tip). These last two sections, the wing tip and the forearm, contain most of the feathers used to tie quill wings. The rearmost feathers attached to the wing tip, which are the longest on the wing, are called by both anatomists and fly tyers “primary feathers,” though occasionally tyers distinguish between a “pointer,” which is the very tip feather, and the remaining primaries. The rearmost feathers on the forearm section are called “secondary feathers.” Collectively, the primaries and secondaries are termed “flight feathers,” and they are partially covered, on both the top and bottom of the wing, with successive, overlapping rows of smaller feathers called “coverts.”
The wing feathers used for trout flies typically come from waterfowl, particularly ducks, though feathers from other birds are sometimes employed. Starling feathers are occasionally used, as are those from game birds such as pheasant and grouse, which have attractively marked wing feathers; all of these feathers can be small, however, and are best reserved for smaller patterns. Shoulder feathers from geese and swans are used for married wings on larger patterns, but as a rule, the larger wing feathers are too coarse for winging flies in typical trout sizes.
A bird wing contains many types of feathers; for our purposes, and as shown on the accompanying photograph, the wing feathers can be divided into two major categories – the flight feathers and the wing coverts. We are concerned here primarily with the flight feathers, which are commonly used for tying quill wings. On some birds, covert feathers may be suitable for this purpose, and these instances are noted below.
Like the body feather pictured on page 5, a flight feather has a stem with barbs project-ing outward from either side. The first few primaries at the wing tip are interesting in this regard, since the vanes on either side of the quill are highly asymmetrical. On one side of the stem is the “quill” portion of the feather, used to tie wings, and on the other side are the “biots,” which are quite different in texture and shape. These wide, flat, tightly overlapping barbs add rigidity to the leading edge of the feather and prevent it from twist-ing when the bird is in flight. As shown in the second photo on pg. 10, the underside of the primaries shows a glossy sheen or glaze on a portion of the feather next to the stem. This “ventral ridge,” as it is termed, is formed from thick barb bases. The flight feathers on some birds have very small ventral ridges, or none at all, but they are generally pronounced in waterfowl and are related to the need for rigidity or flex in various parts of the airfoil. From the tyer’s standpoint, the ventral ridge is a pithy, spongy section of the vane, unsuited to making wings. When cutting sections of barbs for winging, you can include this spongy base to help you hold and manipulate the material, but it should not actually be incorporated into the finished wing, as it tends to split easily.
Wing feathers have somewhat specialized barbules. They are longer and more highly developed than those on body feathers and account for the interesting characteristic that every tyer has probably observed in wing feathers – the ability to separate the barbs and rejoin them again into a smooth, seam-less vane. To some extent, this is characteristic of all pennaceous barbs, but it’s more pronounced and visible on wing feathers because the barbules and hooklets are more specifically shaped for the purpose. Tyers take advantage of this ability to separate and rejoin wing-feather barbs to form married wings, using strips of different colored barbs from different birds to form a single, multi-colored segment of barbs for winging. (More details about feathers for married wings can be found in Method #41: Married Quill Wings, p. 288.)
The glossy ventral ridge shown on this first primary feather, or “pointer,” is unsuited to tying. Note how it limits the useable material in the narrow, upper half of the feather.
Both primaries and secondaries can be used to make quill wings. The primaries, excluding the feather or two at the very wing tip, are generally considered the most desirable. The tip feathers tend to be somewhat coarse, and because of the abrupt narrowing of the vane, may contain relatively little use-able material. The inner primaries, however, are more regularly shaped, with more useable material, and less likely to show torn or ragged edges.
Secondary feathers can make very good winging material, but they are somewhat less reliable. They often have barbs that curve very noticeably toward the feather tip, and a section of these barbs may produce a wing that seems narrow, with a long, sweeping taper at the tip and an excessively pointed appearance. Secondary feathers may also be severely curved or “cupped” from front to back. In many cases, though, the secondaries make quite acceptable material. The barb texture is usually finer than that of primary feathers, making secondaries useful for a wider range of hook sizes. Moreover, the vanes on the secondaries (and sometimes covert feathers) are often quite symmetrical, and an especially well-formed secondary may have vanes so uniform that a pair of wings can be cut from a single feather – one wing from each side of the stem – rather than using a pair of feathers from opposing wings, as is normally the case.
On this pair of secondary feathers, note the curve of the barbs toward the tip of the feather, which can produce excessively pointed wings on a fly, but note the greater symmetry overall and the very small ventral ridge.
Finally, some coverts may be suitable for making quill wings, though this depends largely upon the individual bird. Wing coverts are arranged in rows on both the top and underside of the wing. The row nearest the trailing edge of the wing contains the largest feathers; they decrease in size as the rows of coverts get closer to the leading edge. On a duck, coverts in this rearmost row may be the only ones large enough for wing-ing a fly, and even then, they may be restricted to very small patterns. On a larger bird, such as a goose, the wing coverts may in fact be the only feathers suitable for winging trout flies, since the large flight feathers are rather coarsely textured. Where primaries and secondaries are curved from front to back, and a pair of dry-fly wings formed from sections of these feathers will flare away from one another to form two distinct wings, covert feathers are rather flat. Conventional quill dry-fly wings formed from these wings will show little outward flare. However, provided they are large enough, covert feathers can make excellent wet-fly wings and side-mounted quill wings of the type used on No-Hackle Duns; in these cases, curvature is relatively unimportant.
It is necessary that quill wings be tied from opposing feathers, that is, one from the left wing and one from the right. A pair of quill segments from the same wing will not provide the opposing curvature that produces a divided wing silhouette. If one segment is reversed to provide this opposing curvature, the wings will not be uniform in appearance – one wing will point forward, the other rearward. The exceptions here, as noted above, are with some secondary and covert feathers, which are sometimes sufficiently symmetrical to furnish both wing segments from the same feather.
Notice the symmetry on this large covert feather. Two wings can be cut from this single feather, one from each side of the stem.
The two feathers used for winging a fly should be matched as closely as possible in size, texture, degree of curvature, and color, and the best way to achieve this match is to select feathers from the same bird – one from each wing, from the same relative position. That is, the second primary feather from one wing is paired with the second primary from the other, the fourth left secondary with the fourth right secondary, and so on. Mating feathers like this is a simple matter if whole wings are used. If purchasing individual pairs of feathers, inspect them to ensure that they are properly matched. Finally, feathers used for quill wings should have a clean, smooth outer edge. If the barb ends are frayed, tattered, or broken, the wing will not produce a sharp, pleasing silhouette.
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