22 BIRDS OF FIELD, FOREST AND PARK 



All birds oil their feathers to keep out the wet, 

 from an oil cup nature has provided. So effec- 

 tive is this that in the hardest rainstorm, al- 

 though they may appear drenched on the out- 

 side, yet their skins are dry. 



Color of Plumage. Each variety of birds has 

 its own distinctive colorings. A whole family, as 

 the Sparrows or Thrushes, may have the same 

 general colors, but each species has its own pe- 

 culiar dress. With many families, as the Fly- 

 catchers, Sparrows and Swallows, there is little 

 or no difference in the colors of the male and 

 female, while with other varieties the difference 

 is so marked that the relationship between the 

 sexes would never be recognized. With the 

 female Cardinal, Indigo Bunting and Goldfinch, 

 there is a tinge of the dominant color of the 

 male to lead to her identification. But the 

 female Bobolink, Purple Finch or Scarlet Tana- 

 ger so little resembles the male that she might 

 easily be taken for another variety. 



With many varieties of birds, the color of the 

 youngsters' first suit is strikingly different from 

 that of the grown-ups. When the colors of the 

 male and female are unlike, the young male 

 resembles the father, the young female, the 

 mother. But when the parents have the same 

 coloring, the young usually resemble them. In 

 some varieties, as the Bobolink, where the 

 father bird wears his gay suit for a short time 

 only, the young resemble the female. But when 

 the young do not resemble either of the adult 

 birds, usually they acquire the colors of matu- 

 rity when a year old, but in a few cases, not 

 until the second or third year. 



