MOULT 595 



tails," Kingfishers of the genus Tanysiptera, and Parrots of the 

 group Prionitunis. Waterton {Wanderings, Journey 2, chap, iii.), 

 mentioning the species M. irasiliensis by its native name " Houtou," 

 long ago asserted that this peculiarity Avas produced by the Motmot 

 itself nibbling off the barbs, and this extraordinary statement, 

 though for a while doubted, has since been shewn by Mr. Salvin 

 (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1873, pp. 429-433), on Mr. Bartlett's authority, to 

 be perfectly true. The object with which the operation is per- 

 formed is wholly unknown. It is sometimes incompletely executed, 

 and the tail has then an asymmetrical form. This must have been the 

 case with the example that Hernandez described (/.c), and brought on 

 himself the criticism of Willughby (Oniithologia, p. 298) for so doing. 

 Much of the bibliography of the family is given in Dr. Murie's 

 paper already quoted ; and it may be remarked that in 1734 Seba, 

 probably misled by wrong information, figm-ed (lierum Nat. Thesaur. 

 tab. 67, fig. 2) under the name of "Motmot" a bird which has been 

 identified with a species of Guan, and is the Ortalis motmot of 

 modern ornithology. 



MOULT,^ the change of plumage, or shedding of its old and 

 often weather-beaten feathers to be replaced by an entirely new 

 suit, to which almost every individual bird is subject at least once 

 a year, and a process of the most vital consequence, being possibly 

 the severest strain to which the life of each is exposed, for to judge 

 by its effects on those we domesticate, it produces a greater mortality 

 than temporary want of food may do. Important then as is all 

 that relates to the subject, it is yet one that has been sadly neglected 

 by ornithologists, among whom that careful observer the late Herr 

 W. Meves seems alone to have published any extensive series of ob- 

 servations,^ and it is certainly not to the credit of ornithologists 

 in general, and especially of those who are afforded facilities by 

 Zoological Gardens, that so much ignorance of the process should 

 prevail as undoubtedly is the case, for since his time little advance 

 has been made in our knowledge, so that questions arising out of 

 investigations made by him more than forty years ago remain vm- 

 answered and disregarded ; and, apart from general works, in which 

 the subject is usually but lightly touched, the literature relating to 

 this branch of ornithology is very small. The structure and mode 

 of growth of Feathers has already been sufficiently treated, and 



^ In Middle English the word (originally a verb) is mout, the modern I being 

 redundant, and it is derived from the Latin mutare, to change. 



^ His valuable paper is in the (Efversigt of the Academy of Sciences of Stock- 

 holm for 1854 (No. 8), and an English translation of it has been published by 

 Mr. Dresser {Zoologist, 1879, pp. 81-89), while a German version containing some 

 modifications and additional matter appears in the Journal filr Ornithologie for 

 1855 (pp. 230-238). But the essay treats also of change of colour in feathers 

 apart from moult. 



