The splendor of birds is readily apparent, but here National Geographic photographer Robert Clark focuses in on the feathers and wings themselves, revealing their extraordinary beauty. Highlighted against dark backgrounds and with substantial captions, here are dazzling full-page photographs of feathers from the superb lyrebird, the blue and yellow macaw, the golden-headed quetzal, the lesser snow goose, the king bird-of-paradise, and even a detailed fossil of an archaeopteryx wing. Downy, plantlike strands prove to be fluff from an ostrich chick, while a two-page close-up of the great argus reveals a riot of polka dots and patches of color.