BIRD-LIFE ON THE MOORS IN MAY, 45 



(p. 7) : — Nature, it would seem, has arranged that the little 

 Partridge should be able to fly almost as soon as it leaves the 

 egg ; probably its tiny primaries and secondaries have begun 

 to grow when it was inside the shell. Of course large 

 feathers would be dreadfully in the way to such an atom, 

 but it certainly soon gets such wings as enable it to fly. Well, 

 its body begins to grow and get heavier, and, in consequence, 

 it wants more power to lift it. But matters have been 

 arranged for it without its taking any thought. Out comes 

 one little feather on either side, and another, rather longer 

 than it, begins to grow at once. So soon as it is partially 

 grown, out comes the next feather on each side, and so soon 

 as these are partially grown the same process goes on till the 

 bird gets a new set of wing-feathers, proportionate to its in- 

 creasing weight. No sooner have these all grown (or perhaps 

 before they have) than another new set has in like manner 

 begun to grow, and so a constant change is going on till the 

 bird gets to a fair size. Then the final moult of both quills 

 and tail takes place, at which period both old birds and 

 young get their complete new set of feathers together. . . . 

 The foregoing remarks relate only to the gamebirds. The 

 case of Hawks, Eagles, Owls, Ducks, Geese, Wildfowl, Waders 

 and all the small birds is quite difterent — all of these being 

 entirely unable to fly till they get to their full size. In all 

 these the quills come once only during their young state, 

 and these quills have to serve the bird over the winter and 

 until the general moult in the following summer. 



May 31st — Brood of nine young Wild Ducks on Kede- 

 water, newly hatched. I discovered them by noticing a 

 small ripple coming from under the bank, and on looking 

 over they all swam out, crossing the stream in a close flotilla. 

 The old duck, finding her brood discovered, flapped up from 

 some reeds in the river a few yards ofl", — the drake, of 

 course, non est. Young Peewits are now flying in flocks, 

 and -Mr. Crawhall wrote me he saw yesterday, on the 

 Waskerly reservoirs, in Weardale, a Black Tern {Tlijdro- 

 chelidon nigra), a rare bird in these northern latitudes. 



