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The only tentatively identified feather is one of the Picidae,
(woodpeckers and their relatives) (Poinar, G.O., Jr. 1992. Life in Amber)
It could well be that this feather tells a story of of
an avian predation some 20 million years ago.
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Feathers
in amber just do not occur very often. The number
of feathers that have been found can be counted on
both hands. They are rare, and that is an understatement.
This
particular
piece is beautiful. You can easily see the barb
that was pulled out of the bird. It is large and easy
to see. I have wondered if there is any DNA material
still on the feather's barb.
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The
feather was found at the La Toca mine not far form Santiago
de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic.
Here
are a number of other pictures for your consideration:
This
link contains a scanned
image so you can see the full size of this small piece.
Here is an actual picture of it.
The
price of this exceptionally rare specimen is $4,880
Here
are some more pictures for your observation:
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