Which of the birds listed has the most feathers?

I want to know who counted all the feathers on all the birds..... and did they get a government grant to endow us with this great knownedge?

Since the most obvious answer was swan, since it's obviously much larger than a pigeon, I chose pigeon on the off chance it might have more but much smaller feathers...so much for trying to reason out the answer when one had no clue.

Peter Abrams, me too. I chose sparrow because I thought it was a trick question. Never underestimate Carol!

Same here🤔Peter Abrams,

Birds listed. I didn't see that option.

Trace Bakelar, someone who plucked one?

I think it was just that the Swan is the largest?

Birds die naturally in the wild, then are collected and analyzed. Sometimes, they are intentionally caught in nets, checked, weighed, then released. They are generally not killed to be analyzed. Birding is a very popular recreational activity and birders would not stand for the killing of birds randomly. I am concerned about the hunting of ducks (who mate for life), wild turkeys, quail, etc., than what scientists and ornithologists do with birds.

All they have to do is ask KFC

If they could count themselves, they'd be better off.

A few sources I looked at disagree (National Geographic, Larapedia, etc.) stating it is the Emperor Penguin, which makes more sense to me.

And how many feathers do the other birds have? Is it a few less, or 50% less, or what? Here be an incomplete answer, methinks.

Do birds start to lose their feathers as they get older?

Sharon Lea Summerson, I'm glad they aren't alive for them to have their feathers counted.

Birds of the feather flock together.