Feathers and Flic, hi. 149 



species, and is best in those that fly much. They 

 serve a variety of useful purposes. By entanghng 

 the air they reckice the specific gravity of the 

 creature upon which they grow; and air being a 

 bad conductor of heat, that which is held by the 

 feathers assists to maintain the high temperature of 

 the bird. 



Generally speaking, birds are very particular 

 about their feathers, and spend a good deal of time 

 in cleaning, preening, and oiling them. Seagulls 

 will sometimes fly quite a distance daily from the 

 ocean to some fresh-water loch in order to indulge 

 in a bath, and Starlinos delis^ht in a real o-ood 

 splash on the very coldest day in winter. I have, 

 as a matter of fact, seen them get into a bowl 

 placed for them in my garden and tumble about 

 amongst a number of miniature icebero-s floatinsf in 

 it, only a few minutes before they went off" to 

 roost, and it made me shudder to look at them. 

 Most birds bathe either in dust or in Avater : and 

 although they take a lot of care of their feathers, 

 the wear and tear of time damages and fades them 

 until their replacement by new ones becomes 

 necessary. This is, however, not always the case, 

 as some species — such as the Ptarmigan, for instance 

 — are obliged to change their dress as a means of 

 self-preservation, and the males of others are com- 

 pelled to don gay suits in order to gratify the 

 vanity of the opposite sex. 



The moulting season is, without doubt, the most 



