15- OCK BlKD 1-NllM)-. 



ot one wing only iiuxt year, anci tlnis upset the 

 balance of the hirds. This she did. and kept her 

 Fowls within tlnii- own i^rninids as a «-onse(pience. 



Nature's admiral >1«' rule in retrard to the i^'radual 

 shedding' of old t'catljors lias so:ne reniarkahlr ex- 

 ceptions, howcvt-r, for fhf LaULrhiiiLT Owl of \«-w 

 Zealand casts th<»^e Lrmwinu' upon its hxlv so 

 (juiekly that it heron les nearly naked and is occa- 

 sionally stun'j' to death hy hiM's. A j^'reat nianv 

 memhers ot the hiiek faniilv, too. hecoinc (piite 

 uiialde to iisr th. ir winifs tor a time, as a ri'sulf 

 of losinir >.. many ot their tliirht feathers all at 

 once. 



P^catliers play an extremely imjmrtant part in 

 the pi-eservatinii nt hirds from destruetion whilst 

 they are yonni( and inexperii'iicod, as I have . n- 

 deavoin-ed to sliow in the eliaptor on i'hieks. and 

 also earliei- in this ehapt<r: and in some speries 

 they I'eiider the adult hirds the same service. 

 If rtarmiLrans retain their dark dresses in the 

 autumn at'ter a fall of snow on the mountain^, or 

 eontimie to Wear their wliite on«'s after the snow 

 has (lisaj>)>eared. «^reat havoc is wroiii^dit amoni^'st 

 them hy their natural enemiivs. 



Some hirds. sueh as the (irouse. wear thick, 

 downy stoekiiiLTs rijlit down to their foe-nails in 

 the winter-time, and othei-s that swim. dive, and 

 ohiain theii- food tiom w.iter. sui-h as ihi-ks 

 and ('ormorants. possess an oil iLrland at the lo^t 

 ot the tail from which oil is ]>nssed with the 



