VARIETIES OF WING AND OF FLIGHT 93 
the width of the wing was only 43 inches, whereas 
the Jay’s was 53 inches wide. The wing-tip to wing- 
tip measurements were 181 inches, hardly an advance 
upon the Jay. It is a very short wing, and though 
narrower than the Jay’s, it is a broad wing if we 
compare it with those of most birds. The Moor-hen, 
also, has a rounded and not very long wing, with a 
good deal of front-to-back curve, shallowing, however, 
very much near the extremity. The measurements 
in one specimen were: curve, 3 inch; breadth, 
44 inches; wing-tip to wing-tip, 214 inches. The 
breadth is very little greater than in the case of the 
Red-legged Partridge ; in length the Moor-hen has 
decidedly the advantage, and the gaps between the 
extremities of the feathers are much less; in other 
words, the wing is more finished and more efficient. 
Here in England we look upon the Moor-hen as a 
stay-at-home bird, but it will cross the Alps in 
search of a warmer climate if need be. Frozen-out 
Moor-hens from northern or central Europe often 
accomplish this feat. 
In other birds we find the curve much more reduced 
towards the extremity of the wing; in some it dis- 
appears almost entirely. In the Thrush the last 
inch and a half is nearly flat. In the Starling 
(Pl. xv) there are quite 3 inches with very little 
curve. To take a bird of larger build, the Curlew’s 
wing (Pl. xi) shows a great reduction of curve 
as soon as it begins to taper to a point; the last 
4 inches are nearly flat. Moreover the curve has 
not the same character throughout. For a distance 
of some 9 inches from the body, a front margin, nearly 
an inch broad, is flat; behind that the downward 
