Feathers from Heaven?
Statements from Experts in the Field of Ornithology
Dr. David Ellis is an ornithologist, author, writer, and world renowned expert on birds and birds of prey. He has authored three books and over 160 publications, and has conducted scientific research on birds in some of the most desolate and remote parts of the world.
Dr. H. Douglas Pratt is an ornithologist, author, writer, photographer, and the Research Curator of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Among his many works, Dr. Pratt is the artist and illustrator of the National Geographic Society's Field Guide to the Birds of North America.
With the exception of personal contact information, the statements from Dr. Ellis and Dr. Pratt are presented in their entirety.
Christian Research Service thanks Dr. Ellis and Dr. Pratt for their valuable assistance in the research phase of this article.
Bud Press, Director
Christian Research Service
January 19, 2009
Statement from Dr. David Ellis
November 12, 2008
I received your mailing of five white feathers which were represented to you as having fallen from heaven, supposedly from angel wings. I have examined them and can now report.
I am one of perhaps a dozen biologists in North America who are experts in feather identification, but my expertise is restricted to classifying feathers mostly by color pattern and, to a degree, by general shape. I can say something about shape, but nothing about color because these feathers are all white (one appears to be a white feather dyed pale yellow).
I also went to the website you identified and did see two feathers that appear to be from poultry (rust mottled with black). I can say also that the feathers you sent me are very obviously like normal bird feathers, and there is nothing about them to suggest they are other than bird.
I would think that if angels had feathers they would differ from bird feathers in some conspicuous way. This guess is based on the logic that humans are mammals and angels would most likely be glorified humans, so if they flew under their own power, they should have hair on their wings or on the webs between their fingers (like bats) or between their legs and arms (like flying squirrels and flying phalangers). The long, narrow feather is like that of an ostrich or one of a few other species of flightless birds.
Because the feathers lack color patterns, I cannot ascribe them to a particular species with certainty. However, there are some experts who identify feathers by microscopic details. Dr. Carla Dove is one such person, and Beth Ann Sabo (formerly Beth Ann Gilroy) is another. You know how to contact Carla; I lost contact with Beth Ann a few years ago but suggest you try. And, among the feathers you sent, the one most easily identified to species is the probable ostrich feather.
Having failed to prove that these are not angel feathers, let me at least provide some logic for my belief that they are bird feathers. First of all, many in the scientific world are justifiably suspicious of the claims of religious leaders because so many religious leaders are so deeply invested in illogical and unscientific claims.
To wit: if an ancient boat was found on or near Mt. Ararat, it is easy to believe that most of the Islamic, Judaic, and Christian world would jump to conclude that THE Ark had been found. Seekers after truth, however, would be slow to conclude Noah was responsible. Another example: the true cross (of Christ) is supposedly represented in many church treasuries across Europe. My guess is that if all such fragments were assembled, there would be timber enough to make your own Ark. A true seeker of truth would not be quick to believe a dealer in "holy" artifacts. He would instead be very skeptical of the claims of anyone who presumes to make his living selling faith.
Now to the feathers. A seeker of truth, upon finding a feather as if fallen from heaven, would look up hoping to see, not an angel, but a bird. The feathers you sent look like bird feathers, bend like bird feathers, are light like bird feathers, and in every way suggest a bird, not an angel. What lover of truth would foist a white feather on humanity with the claim that it fell from an angel's wing? Herein lies the most fundamental point: it behooves the person claiming angelic origin for the feather to provide proof that it is not a bird feather, not the other way around.
What a sad indictment of Christianity that anyone (save the senile) would believe that angels are shedding feathers on earth when they have no more evidence than a feather that appears just like a normal bird feather. And the scientist looks at these fools and wonders if all their claims of faith are similarly founded.
I, myself, believe in angels and devils and spirits and a God who rules over all. But, I thank God that my faith is not based on the self-serving claims of those who seek fame or wealth by perpetrating falsehoods. If someone claims to have an angel feather, let them present the basis of their claim and let earnest truth seekers scrutinize their evidence. For them to make such a claim, then fail to present evidence, is to admit that they, in fact, do not believe their own claim.
I close with my regrets that I was not better able to serve you.
Sincerely,
David H. Ellis, Ph.D.
P.S. The feathers are in the mail.
Statement from Dr. H. Douglas Pratt
December 22, 2008
Our collections manager, Becky Desjardins, asked me to examine some feathers that you had sent her, and gave me some brief background on their origin and your reasons for wanting them identified. I also took the liberty of visiting your website and that of pastor David Jones to obtain some further context.
I must say
right away that I cannot make any pronouncements on religious
matters. That is not my area of expertise, and this museum and
the State of North Carolina likewise avoid involvement in
religious matters. I do agree, however, with your observation
that extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, and I can
offer you information that may enable you to evaluate the claims
being made.
As for the 4 feathers themselves, they are unremarkable bird
feathers. One is a down feather, in which the central "stem" or
rachis is about the same length as the side branches or
barbs. Two are what we call semiplumes, which have a downy
portion and a more organized vane at the tip, with the rachis
longer than any of the barbs. Such feathers appear on the bodies
of birds to serve mainly as insulation, in contrast to the
larger, stiffer feathers of the wings that serve the purpose of
flight. For that reason, they are often used for stuffing
pillows, mattresses, comforters, etc. that people use for
warmth. The long narrow feather you sent is not a feather at
all, but a part of one. It is a single barb from a large plume,
most likely an ostrich plume.
Identifying down feathers and semiplumes to species is very
difficult, and probably would take more time than it would be
worth. By their size, these feathers appear to be from some
medium-sized domestic fowl such as a chicken, duck, or maybe
goose (although goose down is much fluffier than any of the ones
you sent). I would guess that they are chicken feathers,
although I have not made a direct comparison, because white
chicken feathers are widely used and easily obtainable almost
anywhere. Also, ostrich feathers are widely used in a variety of
decorative ways and are easily obtainable from numerous ranches
that raise these flightless birds. The main point that should be
of interest to you is that these are not feathers associated
with flight.
David Jones's website features photographs of a variety of bird
feathers, none of which are extraordinary in any way. Several of
them appear to have been dyed, because the pigment extends down
to the very base of the rachis, which is usually unpigmented. There
is one mottled brown feather that may be from a wild bird,
although more likely a pen-raised one from a game farm. Such
feathers are easily obtainable from suppliers of materials for
tying fishing flies. My father used to do this, so I have looked
at the catalogs (wild bird feathers cannot legally be sold).
As with the feathers you sent to Becky, most of those shown are insulating body feathers not usually associated with wings, although one pink one is a flight feather (a secondary, from the inner part of the wing). Without a size reference, I cannot say what bird produced it, although if it is naturally colored (which I doubt) the possibilities would be few (flamingo, roseate spoonbill, etc.).
The feathers you sent, as well as those on the Jones website, are all BIRD feathers. In fact, as far as we know at the present time, only birds have feathers. It is one of their defining characteristics, although we know that some dinosaurs related to birds also had them. Whether non-physical beings might have physical feathers, or whether, indeed, they have (or need) birdlike wings, is certainly not anything that could be tested one way or the other by science.
If you have
any further questions, please feel free to ask.
H. Douglas Pratt, Ph. D.
-- H. Douglas Pratt, Research Curator of Birds
North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences
© Christian Research Service 2009