HIS DRESS 115 
are soft, and cling closely to keep the bird warm 
and dry. These are the clothing feathers, be- 
cause they clothe the bird. 
Down feathers, which are almost always hid- 
den under the clothing feathers, are, like their 
name, downy, and answer to our under-clothes. 
Thread feathers grow among the clothing 
feathers, and are almost like hairs. It is these 
that the cook singes off the fowls. 
Kingfishers who dive, and ducks who spend 
much time on the water, have very thick down 
under the feathers — like suits of very warm 
under- clothes — which keeps the water away 
from their bodies. Thus they can dive, or sit on 
the water hours at a time, and not feel wet at all. 
Powder-down feathers grow on some herons 
and cockatoos. They are called by that name 
because the tip ends are continually breaking off 
like white dust. Nobody knows their use. 
Different from all these are the feathers called 
plumes, like the long, soft ostrich plumes we all 
know ; the dainty little ones that stand straight 
up, and look as if the wind would blow them 
away ; the long, showy feathers that the peacock 
spreads with so much pride, or even the pretty, 
drooping ones in the cock’s tail. 
These feathers are of no use for flight or for 
warmth, they rather hinder than help. They are 
