^°L^.^"n Recent Literature. 



190 1. 



117 



which seems to be the only other general paper on the subject. It should 

 be borne in mind that in this paper, owing to lack of space, no at- 

 tempt was made to describe all the plumages of the species studied, a 

 knowledge of the ordinary ones being taken for granted. Furthermore, 

 the first and second winter and first and second nuptial plumages were 

 not regarded as different plumages unless easily distinguishable. In fact, 

 "plumage" indicated, as it frequently does, one of "the se^•eral recogiiiz- 

 <73/e dresses that a bird assumes; while Dr. Dwight uses the term in a 

 more exact sense to indicate every dress that the bird assumes through its 

 life, and carries his descriptions of the several plumages on as long as 

 any difference whatever can be detected. 



Making allowance for this it is interesting, especially to ' aptosochro- 

 matomaniacs,' to learn that out of 112 species treated in both papers, 

 studied independently and mainly from different material, we reached, 

 in 71 cases, exactly the same conclusions as to moults and plumages. 

 In II other species neither had suflicient material to reach definite con- 

 clusions, and in 30 cases Dr. Dwight has been able to prove that a partial 

 spring moult occurred or did not occur when the insufficient material at 

 my command led me to think otherwise. He has also shown that certain 

 species moulted flight feathers when I had failed to detect it. 



Dr. Dwight, in the course of his investigation, examined some 15,000 

 specimens while I examined probably 8000, and neither of us found the 

 slightest indication of any change in plumage other than that produced 

 by moult or wear. 



Considering now the apparently new points brought forward by Dr. 

 Dwight, which either correct or supplement statements of previous writers, 

 we have first the addition of n birds to those which renew the flight 

 feathers at the postjuvenal moult : — Sturnus vulgaris. Passer domesticus, 

 Melospiza fasciata, Ammodramus inaritimus, Petrochelidon lunifrons, 

 Clivicola riparia, Stelgidopteryx serripentiis, Progtie subis, Hirundo 

 erytkrogastra, Vireo noveboracensis, and Icteria virens. 



Some of the Swallows require confirmation in the shape of moulting 

 specimens from the tropics, and the apparent prenuptial moult of Hirundo 

 erythrogastra is also left for future confirmation. In this connection a 

 specimen recorded by me should be mentioned, which appears to be an 

 adult that has just assumed the winter plumage and which has short outer 

 rectrices, demonstrating that a prenuptial moult of these feathers at least 

 must take place. 



With regard to the Song Sparrow Dr. Dwight shows that some individ- 

 uals moult only part of the primaries at the postjuvenal moult and that 

 the Indigo Bird occasionally does the same thing, thus accounting for 

 some of the curious autumnal specimens of this species that have been 

 taken. A number of birds are shown to have a prenuptial moult everj' 

 year in which it was previously thought to be suppressed after the first 

 season. In the case of the Pine Finch no mention is made of the pre- 

 fiuptial moult which undoubtedly takes place in the first year. ^ 



iSee Auk, 1897, p. 320. 



