148 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



Various 

 Feathers. 



just at the time when it is most required, substance is, especially in the upper or 



We naturally inquire: What is this more coloured and frjossy ))ai-t of the 



covering formed or. what are its constituent feathers, coniljined with oils and metallic 



elements, and what its com- substances in very minute ])ro])ortions ; 



^!?^°.l' '°" iionent parts ? Mudie, in his but in the down and light-coloured feathers 

 of Feathers. ' ' " 



" British Birds," says that it is nearly pure." 

 " the feathers of birds, the coverintjs of In giving definitions of the component 



tlie feathcrlcss i)arts. and even the beak parts, IMudie refers to the " car-covcrts, 



which consist of certain 

 .solt feathers covering the 

 external organ of 

 h e a r i n g. T h e 

 s c a ji II I a r s, o r 

 feathers which cover the 

 shoulders and shoidder-bones, 

 and the places where the 

 Inimcri, or first bones of 

 the wing, answering to the 

 bones of the human arm 

 ab(ne the elbow, are ar- 

 ticulated. They unite with- 

 out nuich distinction with 

 the common feathers of the 

 back, and along with those 

 of the wings and the 

 sides. The scapular feathers 

 serve only as a clothing to 

 the jiarts they cover, l)ut 

 they form a thick and 

 comparatively downy co\cr- 

 ing, which, while it admits 

 of easy motion, preserves 

 the im|)()rtant joints which 

 it coAcrs from the changes 

 of the weather. The hasiard 

 icing consists of a greater 

 or smaller number of 

 feathers, bearing some re- 

 semblance to the quills 

 of the true wing. They grow 

 from a little l)oiu' wiiich is 

 the third joint of the 

 lesser zi-ing-covfrl.s are the 

 the plumage of the wings, 

 all birds take the form 

 and lirm feathers. There 

 are generally several rows of them : and 

 tliere are the iinilrr-covcrls which answer 

 to them, and line Hie undci' or inner side 

 o! the wings : but these are more slender 

 and downy in their consistence, and, 



ORNirnOIOGICAL KtGIONS OF THE liODY OF A SMALL BIRD 



1. Upper mandihle. 



2. Lower mandible. 



3. Nnstrils. 



4. Ridge, ur culmen. 



5. Commissure, or cutting edfjcs of the 



mandibles. 



6. Apex or point of the beak. 



7. 1 lie chin. 



8. Upper throat 



9. Keel, or gonys. 



10. ' (^)loured hands usually 



11. I called Hridles and Stripes. 



12. The forehead. 



\?i. rhe gape, or riclns. 



14. Space round the eye. 



15. I fiwer throat. 



16. Superciliary region. 



17. Clown, suMiniit, or vertex. 



IS. Hind head, or <iccipital region, 

 ly. 'I"he nape, or nucha. 



20. The car. <ir ear feathers. 



21. The throat. 



22 The breast 



2.V The neck abo\e. or upper neck. 



24. The back, or mantle. 



2.S. Scapular wing ci>verts. 



26. Lower back or terguni. 



27. The shoulder. 



28. Body, or lower breast. 

 2'). The bellv. 



.W. The vent. 



.^1. The tail feathers 



?2. The under lail-coverls. 



.T^. Spurir)us quills. 



34. Sec<uidarv ouills, or secondaries, 



35. Primary lunll', or primaries. 

 .36. The shoulder margin. 



37. Wiiig-c.nerls. 



38. Undir. surface, or under-rart of body. 

 ?>^i. The laisus. or kg. 



•10. fht h.,nt tms. 



41. Ihc hinder toe. or hallux. 



42. Upper tail-coverts. 



to 

 The 

 first jiart ()1 

 whieh in 

 of d( liiiile 



and claws. ;iic all, chemically speaking, united 

 formed ol' nearly the same materials ; wing, 

 and nemly the same with the hair and 

 cuticle ol all animals, and tven witli the 

 epidermis whiili (•o\-ers li\ ing shells. This 

 material is coagulated albumen, or nearly 

 the same substance as white of egg when 

 consolidated by heat, in which state it 

 better resists the action of water than 

 almost any other flexible substance. Tlus 



