The Toilet of Birds 



most cockatoos, the Argus pheasants, and all the 

 giant flightless birds ; while the curious " rump- 

 less " breed of fowls also lacks it, and yet these 

 birds look as sleek as ordinary poultry. It is 

 absent, or poorly developed, also in pigeons and 

 nightjars. 



Nature has been even more sparing in her 

 distribution of another appurtenance of the bird's 

 toilet table — the powder puff, whence the delicate 

 powder which forms a bloom on the plumage of 

 some species is derived. This powder emanates 

 from certain peculiar feathers which disintegrate 

 or rot as they grow, thus producing the powder. 

 They may be scattered about the body, as in 

 Amazon and grey parrots and cockatoos, or 

 collected into large patches in definite regions, 

 as on the breast and back of the herons, where 

 they are very conspicuous when the feathers are 

 parted so as to show them. Something of the 

 kind must also exist in many other birds, where 

 it does not seem to have been noticed, as in the 

 pigeons, which are very powdery birds, as any 

 one who has handled them much will testify. 

 But books on birds usually mention these 

 " powder-downs " as restricted to few groups, 

 or to a few isolated members of large families ; 

 thus, among our hawks, the harriers have 

 powder-patches, but no others. Powder appears 

 to some extent to replace pomade in birds, for 



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