A birdie is a type of high-drag object or projectile commonly used in the sport called badminton. The object consists of an open conical shape formed from 16 overlapping feathers (often goose feathers) with tips embedded into a circular cork base. The cork itself is covered with very thin leather.
The shape of the birdie makes it aerodynamically stable or flight-suited. Regardless of its initial orientation, the birdie will always turn in midair so that the cork flies first, and remains in that position until it touches solid ground.
The official name of the birdie is actually shuttlecock. This can be shortened to simply shuttle, and sometimes even cock is used but only in a jocular sense of the word due to the term’s vulgar connotations. In shuttlecock, the “shuttle” part may have been derived from the back-and-forth motion of the game. On the other hand, the “cock” part may have been a reference to the feathers present on the object.
Synthetic Shuttlecocks versus Plastic Shuttlecocks
Feather shuttlecocks are brittle, simple as that. These shuttlecocks break easily, and it is not uncommon for a feather shuttlecock to be replaced several times during a single game. Synthetic shuttlecocks were developed to replace the costly expenditure of having to replace the feathered ones all the time.
Plastic shuttlecocks use a plastic skirt instead of real feathers. The market price of a good plastic shuttlecock is similar to that of a quality feather shuttlecock, but the former is far more durable, making it the shuttlecock of choice for casual players. Professional badminton players, on the other hand, almost always use feather shuttlecocks in tournaments and competitions.