daily 



From February 11th to February 28th 

 an average of 50 contours was lost daily. 

 By March 5th the loss had abruptly ceased, 

 and until his death on March 29th the bird 

 lost but one or two feathers daily. The 

 loss of down feathers was very small, not 

 exceeding twenty specimens — a fact of pos- 

 sible importance to be dwelt upon later on. 

 The total summary of the contour feathers 

 lost, carefully estimated at 1350 feathers, 

 appeared to comprise about three-fifths 

 of my bird's entire plumage. They were 

 shed from all parts of the plumage, and in 

 view of the heavy loss I was quite prepared 

 to ultimately conclude that any color 

 change resulting in my bird would ensue 

 from extensive feather loss. I was thus 

 quite unprepared for what eventually fol- 

 lowed. Microscopically, the cast-oflf feath- 

 ers were broken, abraded and apparently 

 in the worst condition. The barbules were 

 broken or wanting, the barbs in many 

 places worn down, and the rhachis of the 

 larger feathers was split. This is also of 

 importance as will directly be seen. To 

 many observers my bird by March 5th 

 would have been pronounced to be com- 

 pletely moulting. Immature feathers were 

 in prominence especially upon the head and 

 were scattered all about the remaining 

 feathers of the plumage, which, as has been 

 before remarked, amounted to about two- 

 fifths of the entire plumage. The color of 

 a discarded feather, compared with a freshly 



