140 OniitJiology, — Technical terms, 



enable the student to ascertain the name of rare species from the short 

 descriptions given in such works as Audubon's Synopsis of the Birds of 

 America, without purchasing the expensive books in which alone they are 

 well figured. In this Journal it cannot be expected that figures of many 

 birds can be given, and for the common species it is not necessary, as do 

 drawing can equal the originals, which can be procured at any time. 



The diagramatic figure given above is taken from Lewis' American 

 Sportsman, and so are the following explanations of the technical terms : — 



1, Auriculars, the ear coverts. — The soft feathers that cover the organs 

 of hearing. 



2, 2. The bastard wing, consisting of three or five feathers, resembling 

 the quills of the true wing ; they are placed on a small bone rising from the 

 wrist-joint of the wing. The bastard wing assists in flight by keeping the 

 wing from turning upwards, and contracts the points of the wing in a down- 

 ward and backward position to that of the course of the Bird through the 

 air. 



3, 3. The lesser coverts of the wings. — These are the feathers which are 

 found in successive rows upon the wings ; those on the inside are termed 

 under coverts, and are much less regarded by Ornithologists as a means of 

 distinction than the others. 



4,4. The greater coverts. — The wing feathers lying under the lesser 

 coverts ; they are much larger and stronger than the latter. 



5, 5. The primaries. — Large quill feathers taking their growth from 

 below the wrist-joint. The length and proportion of the feathers control, in 

 a wide degree, the movements of the Bird in the air. The nearer the longer 

 primary quill approaches the body, the more dexterous and beautiful will be 

 the motion of the Bird when on the wing. The Hawks, Swallows, and 

 various other Birds of rapid flight, that seize their prey when on the wing, 

 have the longest primary feather very near the body, aud consequently are 

 enabled to turn and twist themselves with great facility. 



6, 6. The secondaries, or second quill feathers, spring from the second 

 bone of the wing. When the wing is extended, they frequently appear Uko 

 a continuation of the primaries. 



7, 7, The tertiary, or third quill feathers, also arise from the second 

 bone, but much nearer the elbow-joint. 



8, 8. The scapulars, or shoulder feathers, are formed by the soft and 

 downy feathers that cover the shoulder-bones, and are serviceable only as a 

 protection to the parts which they surround ; they unite without any regu- 

 larity with the plumage of the back and wings. 



9, The rump feathers and upper-tail coverts. — These feathers are the 

 continuation of the covering of the back, and are strong in proportion to tlie 

 peculiar habits of the Bird. In the Woodpecker tribe, for instance, these 

 feathei-s are very strong and unusually long, as they make constant use of 

 the tail as a support aud assistance when climbing the trunks of trees ; and 

 60 it is with some water-fowl not Aveb-footed, but obliged frequented to take 

 flight from the water. The tail feathers in these last-mentioned Birds aflord 

 tiie greatest assistance in springing into the air. 



