Young Brunette Girl With A Blue Feather

A bird's feathers undergo wear and tear and are replaced periodically during its life through molting. New feathers, known as blood, or pin feathers (depending on the stage of growth) when developing, are formed through the same follicle from which the old ones were fledged. The presence of melanin in feathers increases their resistance to abrasion. One study notes that melanin based feathers were observed to degrade more quickly under bacterial action, even compared to unpigmented feathers from the same species, than those unpigmented or with carotenoid pigments. However, another study the same year compared the action of bacteria on pigmentations of two song sparrow species and observed that the darker pigmented feathers were more resistant and they cited other research also published in 2004 that stated increased melanin provided greater resistance. They observed that the greater resistance of the darker birds confirmed Gloger's rule. The evolution of coloration is based on sexual selection and it has been suggested that carotenoid-based pigments may have evolved since they are likely to be more honest signals of fitness because they are derived from special diets, or because carotenoids are also required for immune function.
Parasites
The feather surface is the home for some ectoparasites, notably feather lice (Phthiraptera) and feather mites. Feather lice typically live on a single host and can move only from parents to chicks or mating birds and occasionally by phoresy. This life history has resulted in most of the species being specific to the host and coevolving with the host, making them of interest in phylogenetic studies.