2'14 



[NoTember, 



(a) Apertures. — The inhabited quill (fig. In) is pierced by one 

 or more apertures. Commonly one is present winch may be too small 

 to permit the egress of the largest o£ the enclosed parasites. Tliis 

 aperture is regular and approximately circular (fig. Ih) in outline, 

 but may be irregular and large. It is placed at some point on the 

 proximal third of tlie rhachis, as a rule on the ventral aspect, and 

 pierces the pith. A second aperture, generally larger, is sometimes 

 seen either near the first on the rhachis or on the barrel. I have seen 

 at least a third tiny hole in one case, and even more may be expected to 

 occur. Such extra holes are possibly to be explained as of accidental 

 occurrence during the working of the parasite. 



(h) Internally the calamus is smooth and "die seele " has been 

 devoured, while distally the pith is consumed for some distance. In an 



Fig. 1. — a, Flight-feather of Curlew {Numenius arquafa) : h, Aperture made by 

 Colpoc&phnlwm; c, Calamus and proximal jjart of rhachis; d, Eggs of (Jolpo- 

 ceplialwrn in situ. 



extreme case there may be a continuous passage between the points 



indicated by the lines from c. in the figure. Sometimes, however, the 



jjith is incompletely removed and merely tunnelled for some distance. 



(c) One effect of the occupation of the shaft by the Coljjocepliahim 

 is possibly a retarding of the normal moulting thne. The point is put 

 forward more as a suggestion than as an ascertained fact, but occupied 

 feathers sometimes appear consj)icuously weathered and pale in a set 

 which has been recently renewed. M}^ knowledge of the moult of the 

 flight-feathers of Numeniiis is, howevei', quite insufiicient to determine 

 whethei', in the case referred to, the feathers had persisted beyond their 

 due time, but if future observations should establish what is here tenta- 

 tively put forward, the importance of tlie fact in ensuring the survival 

 of the species is considerable. 



Tui'ning now to the contents of this unusual habitat one finds : — 

 («) Every stage of the Coljwcephalum may he repi'csented from the 

 egg to fully coloured adults. The eggs for the most part lie side b\ 



