Observation on microscopic structure of feathers of 3 kinds of Passerine birds

【Objective】To clarify microstructure differences and characteristic indicators of bird feathers, in order to provide scientific evidence for the identification of Chinese bulbul(Pycnonotus sinensis), Rustic bunting(Emberiza rustica) and Brambling(Fringilla montifringilla).【Method】Remiges, rectrices and downy feather of 3 Passerine birds, Chinese bulbul, Rustic bunting and Brambling were taken as research objects. The number of microscopic structure of remiges and rectrices, such as hooked barbule, cilia and ventral tooth were recorded;and length of base handle, distance between barbules of remiges and rectrices, distance between nodules, nodular diameter and distance between barbules of downy feather were measured by scanning electronic microscope(SEM). At the same time, differences of these indicators among 3 species were analyzed by SPSS 22.0.【Result】(1) For rectrices, the indicators such as the length of base handle of distal barbule, the length of base handle of proximal barbule, the sum of the number of hooked barbule and cilia and the distance between barbules etc. could help identify the 3 species;the number of ventral tooth could be used to identify Chinese bulbul and Rustic bunting, Brambling and Rustic bunting.(2) For remiges, the indicators such as the length of base handle of proximal barbule, the sum of the number of hooked barbule and cilia and the distance between barbules etc. could help identify the 3 species;the number of ventral tooth could be used to identify Chinese bulbul and Rustic bunting, Chinese bulbul and Brambling, and the length of base handle of distal barbule could be used to identify Chinese bulbul and Rustic bunting, Brambling and Rustic bunting. (3) For downy feather, the distance between barbules could be used to identify the 3 species, the distance between nodules can be used to identify Chinese bulbul and Rustic bunting, Chinese bulbul and Brambling, the nodular diameter could be used to identify Chinese bulbul and Brambling, Rustic bunting and Brambling.【Conclusion】The distance between barbules, the length of base handle, the sum of the number of hooked barbule and cilia, the distance between nodules, the nodular diameter etc. can provide scientific basis for the identification of the 3 studied bird species and multiple indicators should be considered together for comprehensive evaluation.