s 9 



occurs in the Black Swan, which is never quite black, but in 

 some of which the grey edges to the feathers are much more 

 noticeable than in others. Mealy birds have a fuller covering of 

 feathers and are larger, and thus furnish an explanation of the 

 characteristic aspect of the tropical forms of widely- ranging 

 species. These are smaller and richer in colour than those found 

 in temperate climates, the more fully-feathered though duller- 

 coloured birds being no doubt better fitted to stand the cold, 

 whilst it is the brighter but thinner-plumaged ones which are 

 more at home in a hot climate. It is therefore quite easy to see 

 how local races of this kind may arise. In some cases the two 

 forms are found existing side by side; in others, circumstances 

 favour the almost exclusive production of one or the other variety. 

 The reddish and grey varieties found in Owls possibly are Jonque 

 and meaty types. 



A peculiar form of induced albinism, and one not to be 

 passed over without notice, is the whitening of the dark legs of 

 our Common British Finches in those specimens that have been 

 in confinement for some time. * It is most remarkable that this 

 should take place, because the legs of the green Canary, although 

 the bird is bred and born in captivity, do not become white, 

 neither do dark-legged Foreign Finches change the colour of 

 these members in captivity. 



Another familiar phenomenon is the disappearance of the 

 carmine-red colour in the Crossbill, Linnet and Redpoll ; the 

 same thing occurs in the nearly related Rose Finch (Carpodceus 

 erythrinus) and the nearly allied Purple Finch of North America 

 (C '. ptirptueus) which from carmine-red birds moult into brown 

 ones with a touch of old gold in their plumage. A very little 

 known species of the same group — the lavas {Hcematospiza sifrahi) 

 — moults into a bright yellow when in captivity. 



Examples of melanism in birds are of this induced char- 

 acter in many familiar cases, such as in the Bullfinch and the 

 Skylark, but, of course, poultry and pigeon keepers are familiar 

 with birds which are black from birth, and black forms also 



• While tliis is so, it is equally tine that with Goldfinches, &c, and also many 

 Foreign birds, the legs and feet are considerably lighter during the breeding-season than 

 they are in the winter or off season. I have not noticed that length of period in captivity 

 interferes with or accentuates this s,',:i<w<7/ change. —Ed] 



