Parrot integumentary system — feathers, tracts, and the preen gland
Overview of parrot skin and plumage — thin skin with no sweat glands, feathers growing in defined tracts, powder down, and the uropygial preen gland at the base of the tail.
General educational reference only — not clinical or veterinary advice. Anatomy varies between individual animals; consult a licensed veterinarian for any health concern.
Thin skin without sweat glands
Avian skin is thin, dry and loosely attached, and carries almost no glands. Birds have no sweat glands, so heat is not lost by sweating; it is shed through the respiratory tract and across sparsely feathered areas such as the face and feet. The dermis anchors the feather follicles and holds small smooth muscles that raise and lower the feathers.
Feather types and tracts
Feathers do not grow evenly over the body: they arise from follicles set in defined tracts called pterylae, separated by nearly bare apteria that the overlying plumage covers. Contour feathers give the bird its outline and include the flight feathers — remiges on the wing, rectrices on the tail — each with a central rachis whose barbs and hooked barbules interlock into a closed vane. Beneath them lie down feathers, filoplumes, and in psittacines powder down, which disintegrates into a fine keratin dust and is abundant in cockatoos, cockatiels and African greys.
Uropygial gland and other keratin structures
The uropygial or preen gland sits at the dorsal base of the tail and is the one substantial skin gland most birds possess; its oily secretion is worked through the plumage during preening. It is absent in some psittacines, notably Amazon parrots. The horny rhamphotheca of the beak, the claws and the scaled skin of the legs and feet are keratinized parts of the same integument and grow continuously to offset wear.
