How to cut feathers in a picture in Adobe illustrator?

Question

Adobe Illustrator

Guys, I appeal to your brilliant minds, in adobe illustrator I am a tourist guest, I can do something, I learn something from lessons, in general I actively understand all the time, the question arose, cut eagle feathers in the picture of the project, they are already there, but I can’t figure it out, I’ve reviewed a bunch of videos, or it’s done with a pen, so that it’s easier, I’ll show it in the screenshot

Answer 1

If you are new to the Pen Tool, then I recommend drawing cuts with separate contours filled with white and the desired profile. Then you disassemble these contours and subtract from the main figure. See example file.
In the same file, the red figure is drawn from scratch with a pen - an example directly for this tool.
File (AI CS6): https://www.dropbox.com/s/nrut6hki0bi8mq5/feather_...