Badminton Shuttlecock originates from England 1870 and develops in 1992 Olympic game. Shuttlecock has an open conical shape: the cone is formed from 16 or so overlapping feathers, usually goose or duck, embedded into a rounded cork base. The cork is covered with thin leather. [1] To ensure that shuttlecocks rotate consistently, only feathers from the birds' left wings are used. [2] The shuttlecock's shape makes it extremely aerodynamically stable.