Ornithological and Other Oddities 



ornamental feathering ; but most people will 

 not care to disfigure their birds, and it is 

 usually possible to find enough difference occur- 

 ring naturally in birds kept in confinement and 

 known individually. 



I ought to say that the idea of experimenting 

 in this way was the late Professor Moseley's, 

 but I am, I believe, the only person who has 

 actually made any experiments, and I think 

 that, few though these were, they do show 

 that the method is a workable one. The 

 positive results do not amount to very much ; 

 but if further experiments should confirm them, 

 we should at least know that some hen birds 

 like a handsome mate better than a dull-coloured 

 one. 



Whether the right of the strongest ever fails 

 to be upheld is a matter more for outdoor 

 observation, and we must in any case re- 

 member that a wild hen bird's inclinations 

 cannot be forced. 



