VARIETIES OF WING AND OF FLIGHT 93 



the width of the wing was only 4| inches, whereas 

 the Jay's was 5f inches wide. The wing-tip to wing- 

 tip measurements were 18| inches, hardly an advance 

 upon the Jay. It is a very short wing, and though 

 narrower than the Jay's, it is a broad wing if we 

 compare it with those of most birds. The Moor-hen, 

 also, has a rounded and not very long wing, with a 

 good deal of front-to-back curve, shallowing, however, 

 very much near the extremity. The measurements 

 in one specimen were : curve, T 7 ^- inch ; breadth, 

 4 £ inches ; wing-tip to wing-tip, 21 J inches. The 

 breadth is very little greater than in the case of the 

 Red-legged Partridge ; in length the Moor-hen has 

 decidedly the advantage, and the gaps between the 

 extremities of the feathers are much less ; in other 

 words, the wing is more finished and more efficient. 

 Here in England we look upon the Moor-hen as a 

 stay-at-home bird, but it will cross the Alps in 

 search of a warmer climate if need be. Frozen-out 

 Moor -hens from northern or central Europe often 

 accomplish this feat. 



In other birds we find the curve much more reduced 

 towards the extremity of the wing ; in some it dis- 

 appears almost entirely. In the Thrush the last 

 inch and a half is nearly flat. In the Starling 

 (PL xv ) there are quite 3 inches with very little 

 curve. To take a bird of larger build, the Curlew's 

 wing (PL xiii) shows a great reduction of curve 

 as soon as it begins to taper to a point ; the last 

 4 inches are nearly flat. Moreover the curve has 

 not the same character throughout. For a distance 

 of some 9 inches from the body, a front margin, nearly 

 an inch broad, is flat ; behind that the downward 



