144 Our Bird Frif.xds. 



but round about tbeiii is a tliick warm crop of 

 down feathers springing direct from tbe skin. ( )n 

 the other liand, in the case of the Grouse, the body 

 feathers of which are long, strong, and numerous, 

 the after-shafts are long and tliickly clothed with 

 down, ver}' little of which grows in independent 

 tufts direct from the skin, as in the case of the 

 previously-mentioned species. This shows that the 

 l)odies of birds of varying habits arc kept warm 

 and dry by different methods. 



Feathers are long or short, strong oi- weak, 

 according to the part of the body u))on whi< h they 

 grow, and the uses to Avliich their wearers put 

 them. The soft, ])bune-hke one from tlie under ]>art 

 of a Hei-ou would never do to fly with, for it 

 would let the air slip through it, and its owner 

 would be very nuieh in the position <»f a boatman 

 trying to sail his craft with a tisliing-net instead 

 of a sheet of canvas. 



The Gannet, or Solan Goose, gets its living by 

 Hying along at some height over the surface of the 

 sea, and, directlv it espies a suitable tish to pi'cy 

 upon swimming near the surface of the water 

 below, down it plunges headlong and disaj^penrs in 

 a seething ])atch of white foam churned up by its 

 impact with the water. The shock produced i»y 

 such a heavy bird suddenly striking the surface of 

 the ocean after descending from a considerable 

 height at great velocity would kill some species of 

 similar size on the spot. But the Gannet has been 



