Dictionary entry

Plumage

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Plum″age (plūm″ā̍j), n. [F., from plume a feather.] (Zoöl.) The entire clothing of a bird.

☞ It consist of the contour feathers, or the ordinary feathers covering the head, neck, and body; the tail feathers, with their upper and lower coverts; the wing feathers, including primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, with their coverts; and the down which lies beneath the contour feathers. See Illust. under Bird.