SEXUAL CHARACTERS OF SOME DOMESTIC BIRDS. 23 



No. 1196, whose history has already been briefly given in the American 

 Naturalist, but which it may be well to give hi more detail. The bird 

 was purchased as a day-old chick from a breeder. The chicks of the 

 lot of which this was a member were exceptionally strong and vigorous. 

 This individual was first opened when 10 days old and a part of the 

 ovary removed, but a hemorrhage started, so the operation was discon- 

 tinued and the opening closed. Ten days later she was again opened 

 and the remainder of the ovary removed with great ease and without 

 hemorrhage. At the time of the second operation the chick was in the 

 down except for the remiges and rectrices. The chick plumage (see 

 page 9) began to come in soon after this. As this plumage is alike in 

 the two sexes, no evidence of any results appeared until the juvenile 

 plumage began to develop. From this time on, the bird exhibited the 

 characters of the male except that the comb and wattles grew less rap- 

 idly than is the case in most normal males of this variety. At 6 months 

 of age, while larger than those of the check pullets, these appendages 

 were distinctly female in form and shape. Eventually they became equal 

 in size and shape to those of many cocks. Unfortunately, the males that 

 had been kept as checks on the rate of comb-growth disappeared, prob- 

 ably taken by rats; but even if they had not been lost, the com- 

 parison would have been of small value, since the normal variation in 

 rate of comb-growth is so large. In due course of time the juvenile 

 plumage was replaced by that of the adult male, though differing in two 

 points: first, the sickles of the tail were missing; secondly, many of the 

 feathers of the saddle region were not long, pointed, and golden-laced 

 with black stripes, but were broad, rounded at the ends, and colored 

 dark brown with minute red spots or stippling (fig. c, American Nat- 

 uralist, 1913). In shape and size they were identical with those of the 

 hen, but the coloring differed, being more like similar feathers found in 

 this region in the juvenile plumage of the male. The bird was kept 

 until she was well into the molt of the second year, in hopes that these 

 would be replaced by typical male saddle feathers. Nothing of the 

 sort happened. Each kind of feather was replaced by one of the 

 same kind. In other words, no further development of the plumage 

 toward the male type occurred. In the light of other observations, it 

 is probable that even if the bird had not been killed at this time she 

 would not have developed more of the male plumage. 



The non-development of the sickle feathers of the tail may be 

 explained in the following manner : The dorsal part of the uropygium 

 was missing, resulting in a deficiency in the number of rectrices, there 

 being only 8 instead of the usual 12 or 14. The oil gland also was miss- 

 ing. Moreover, a rumpless cock appeared in a younger brood obtained 

 from the same breeder. Correspondence brought the fact that such 

 birds occasionally appeared in his home flock. The evidence, then, 

 indicates that the deficiency in sickles and tail feathers had nothing 



