A badminton shuttlecock made in CATIA V5 and rendered in Keyshot 10.

A shuttlecock (also called a birdie or shuttle) is a high-drag projectile used in the sport of badminton. It has an open conical shape formed by feathers or plastic (or a synthetic alternative) embedded into a rounded cork (or rubber) base. The shuttlecock's shape makes it extremely aerodynamically stable. Regardless of initial orientation, it will turn to fly cork first, and remain in the cork-first orientation.

The object resembles a hawk's lure, used from ancient times in the training of hunting birds.[citation needed] It is frequently shortened to shuttle. The shuttle part of the name is derived from its back-and-forth motion during the game, resembling the shuttle of a 14th-century loom, while the cock part of the name is derived from the resemblance of the feathers to those on a rooster