Domestic Chicken (Red or Rhode Island Red Variety)

A medium-sized contour feather from a domestic chicken, specifically from a reddish-brown variety like a Rhode Island Red. The feather exhibits a classic 'dual-purpose' structure with a firm tip for water shedding and a downy base for thermo-regulation. The domestic chicken is a flightless bird (mostly) characterized by its fleshy comb and wattles.

Uniform deep rufous-brown or cinnamon-red; consistent coloring across the vane without distinct banding or tipping; slight sheen visible on the pennaceous portion.

Mixed: Pennaceous (tightly interlocked) at the distal tip/top; Plumulaceous (downy and loose) at the proximal base; moderately frayed at the edges.

Relatively soft; the top portion is smooth and slightly glossy, while the bottom two-thirds is very soft and downy to the touch.

Uniform cinnamon-red color, broad rounded tip, extensive downy base, and lack of wild-type patterning (like barring or speckling).

Domestication-dependent; farms, backyard coops, and agricultural lands.

Global distribution due to domestication; found on every continent except Antarctica.

Domesticated prey species; serves as a primary source of protein for humans and various predators (foxes, hawks, raccoons).

Red Junglefowl (smaller, wilder patterns), Rhode Island Red (most likely source), or Red-tailed Hawk (much larger, different structure, legally protected).

Chicken feathers were once used to stuff pillows and bedding before the prevalence of synthetic materials; chickens can recognize over 100 different faces of their own species.

Fair condition; shows some mechanical wear at the tip (fraying) and separation of barbs, likely a naturally molted feather.