PLUMAGES OF THE OSTRICH DUEEDEN. 569 



of the adult plumage. The time at which the true blacks show 

 themselves varies much in different birds, and as these feathers are 

 of greater value than the drabs, the earliness is a matter of some 

 economic importance. The blacks on the sides will sometimes appear 

 before the birds are a year old, but usually they are later, though 

 before the end of two years all the body feathers and coverts will be 

 black. Often in birds between 18 months and 2 years a few odd faded 

 feathers of the juvenal plumage are conspicuous among the fresh 

 true blacks. 



With the fourth plumage, " seeond-after-chicks," the valuable 

 wing quills of both the cock and the hen have usually reached their 

 full size and show their best characteristics. The plumes attain 

 ripeness by the time the bird is about 2 years old, though in forward 

 birds the quills also will be ripe by this time. With the exception 

 of a few feathers toward each end of the wing, the wing quills are 

 pure white in the cock ("primes" or "whites"), but are usually 

 tinged with gray or black in the hen, either throughout or only at 

 the tip (" feminas ") (cf. pi. 4, fig. 2; pi. 5). The detailed characters 

 of these feathers, which determine their value from a commercial, 

 point of view, will be described later. 



The tail quills of the adult also differ in the two sexes. Those 

 of the cock are usually white below and yellowish brown above, while 

 in the hen they are mottled light and dark gray, the proportions 

 of the light and dark areas varying much. At first sight the brown 

 color of the cock's tail feathers might be supposed to be merely a 

 discoloration from dragging over the ground, but it is found to be 

 the true natural color of the plumes in most cases, though some are 

 nearly pure white. As the cocks generally carry their tails erect 

 or pointing forward, the light brown feathers stand out very con- 

 spicuously against the blacks of the body. 



Except as regards position the passage from the wing and tail 

 quills to the coverts and body feathers is gradual. Toward each end 

 of the series of wing quills three or four of the plumes of the cock, 

 instead of being pure white, are a particolor of black and white. 

 These are technically known as byocks or fancies (pi. 6), and are 

 very attractive plumes, realizing good prices. The hen likewise shows 

 " hen fancies," a mixture of white and gray. Similarly with the two 

 rows of wing coverts; while usually wholly black (pi. 7) or drab, 

 many are white in places, particularly toward each end of the plume. 

 Likewise the white and brown tail quills of the cock are not succeeded 

 by wholly black feathers but by particolored feathers, in which the 

 white, brown, or black are displayed in varying proportions. These 

 intermediate tail feathers are known as " black butts." 



As previously stated, the neck and head of the ostrich are covered 

 with small downlike feathers, giving these parts an altogether dif- 



