Feather in your bonnet

[JohntheBiker]

I'm well aquainted with hackles which are a regimental form often denoting battle honours but I've never seen backcock feathers used in a military context.

So what IS the deal with these blackcock feathers?

There are Canadian highland regiments that, at one time, had this style of ornamentation as part of their headgear (I've seen pictures of pipers in the 48th Highlanders from the 50's/60's wearing a balmoral with blackcock feathers). At some point seems to have been replaced by feather bonnets.

[cessna152towser]

Apart from the rules which apply within Scotland regarding wearing of eagle feathers, anyone can wear any feathers they want, though in my opinion, people who wear five or even seven feathers in the bonnets usually look rather silly.
Although I am a Scottish Armiger I have never worn a feather in my bonnet, though my cap badge incorporates a small imitation feather in silver.

[JohntheBiker]

There are Canadian highland regiments that, at one time, had this style of ornamentation as part of their headgear (I've seen pictures of pipers in the 48th Highlanders from the 50's/60's wearing a balmoral with blackcock feathers). At some point seems to have been replaced by feather bonnets.

Correction, said balmoral, meant glengarry.

[Nathan]

So it's not typically something you'd see civilians wearing nowadays outside of a band, dance uniform, correct?

[Jock Scot]

So it's not typically something you'd see civilians wearing nowadays outside of a band, dance uniform, correct?

Correct. I am not sure that they are that popular with civilian pipe bands and dancers over here, these days, either.

[Nathan]

Correct. I am not sure that they are that popular with civilian pipe bands and dancers over here, these days, either.

Makes sense to me, Jock. Like I said, I've only seen them in old photos and have seen plenty of pipe bands. They mostly have glengarrys with a simple badge. 99% of Highland dancers I see are female and don't wear any headdress and the one guy I saw in recent years wore a balmoral bonnet and clansman badge. So I think the style has evolved in a more or less parallell fashion regarding these blackcock feathers.

My Highland regiment didn't wear a hackle or bonnet feathers like this. We did, contrary to the taste of some, wear a square of matching tartan behind our badge on our TOS rather than a ribbon rosette but I digress...

[Harold Cannon]

When I was part of the a band we used hackles but I know of several civilian bands that used to use cock feathers. I think they look quite nice in the right setting.

[Singlemalt]

I understand that these are the tail feathers of black grouse, which are the less common cousins of the the more often harvested red grouse in Scotland. They look similar to the spruce grouse I was familiar with growing up in central Ontario. Pretty much all of the grouse family circumpolar are delicious to eat and are often sought out by people who "set out with dog and gu@" however we are not allowed to discuss such things here.

I hope, it is allowable that I can observe that it would be perfectly natural for rural people, who lived close to the land, who had harvested the bird for the meat to look at the magnificent tail feathers and seek for an opportunity to make use of them as well. It would serve two puposes it would be a signify that the wearer was a successful provider for his family and also a nod of respect to the bird who gave it's life to provide.

It is certainly something that would come naturally to this h@nter and gatherer.