Vol 'i5i XV ] Clark, Pterylosis of the Wild Pigeon. 417 



shown in Melopelia as it seems to be. Apparently twelve of the 

 quills are on the tibia, crossing its entire width; six and possibly 

 seven of these are main quills and six or perhaps only five are 

 coverts; the outermost are smallest. The other seven feathers 

 are four main quills and three coverts and they lie along the 

 posterior margin of the femur. The two groups of feathers are 

 divided by a break similar to that which separates primaries and 

 secondaries in the wing, but this may be an artificial condition due 

 to the way in which the skin was prepared and dried. It is notable 

 that all the quills of the "pelvic wing" are much more advanced 

 in development than are any of the quills of the wings or tail. 



When the main pterylosis of this young Ectopistes is compared 

 with Nitzsch's figure of the condition in Columba lima, we find 

 some striking differences. Dorsally, the upper cervical tract with 

 its limiting apterium on each side and its conspicuous fork between 

 the shoulders is fairly well marked but the branches of the fork are 

 narrower, and the fork itself is deeper. The humeral tracts are 

 evident but narrower than in Columba. The dorsal tract however, 

 instead of having an insignificant apterium, a mere line at its 

 center, is made up of two parts, separated from the cervical fork 

 by a space of 5 or 6 mm. and from each other by a dorsal ap- 

 terium 3 or 4 mm. wide; the two halves of the tract run nearly 

 parallel to a point about 12 mm. anterior to the oil-gland when they 

 curve inward slightly and unite in a short terminal part about 5 mm. 

 wide, ending at the oil-gland. Each half of the dorsal tract is about 

 four feathers, or 3 mm. wide near its middle, but is much narrower 

 anteriorly. There is no trace of a femoral tract save the inner half 

 of the "pelvic wing." The lower cervical, sternal and ventral 

 tracts in the young Ectopistes are continuous as in Columba but 

 are much narrower. The most striking feature however, is the 

 complete separation of the two sides. In Columba, the lower 

 cervical is a single tract only slightly forked where it joins the 

 sternals, but in Ectopistes (juv.), the fork is so deep, reaching clear 

 to the chin, that the lower cervical tract apparently consists of two 

 entirely separated longitudinal tracts. It is possible that this 

 separation has been accentuated by the way in which the throat 

 has been stuffed in this particular specimen, but I think there is no 

 doubt that in the living bird at this stage, the two parts were 



