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Recent Literature. 



TAuk 

 Ljan. 



plucked from this species at various dates form a series depicted in a 

 colored plate, whicli purports to show a color change without moult. It 

 so happens, however, that Mr. Chapman has also studied the Sanderling 

 (Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1896, pp. 1-8) and states that the change 

 is due to a moult. That all who read may each judge for himself which of 

 the two writers has the best claim to credence, I make use of the 'deadly 

 parallel column,' italicizing the important features. Mr. Millais's remarks 

 are given in the first column, Mr. Chapman's in the second. 



Mr. Millais. 



" Illustrations are given (Plate X, 

 figs. 8-12) showing the gradual 

 change of a feather from the back 

 of the neck during the period ex- 

 tending from March to August. 

 " ... Mr. Allen's chief argument 

 seems to be that a feather once 

 completed is dead and retains no 

 further power of transmitting color 

 through the quill from the epider- 

 mis. Now if this were the case how 

 is it that we find a feather like that 

 of figs. 9, 10 and 1 1 — feathers which 

 are to be found in the plumage of 

 the bird during successive months .' 

 According to Mr. Allen the bird 

 would have to renew its feathers 

 every month which is a manifest 

 impossibility. As there can be no 

 reasonable doubt that the same 

 feather goes through the changes 

 exhibited in figs. 9-12 (^because there 

 is no moult during that period), and 

 as we have the proof of all interme- 

 diate changes of the feathers taking 

 place, there seems equally little 

 reason to doubt that fig. 8 passes 

 into fig. 9, for here again we have 

 the transition shown. We know 

 that many of the small perching 

 birds assume their summer plumage 

 bv means of thegray edgings of the 

 feathers wearing off; I do not, hotv- 

 ever, think that this takes place 



Mr. Chapman. 



"This brings us to the change 

 from winter to breeding plumage, 

 which Herr Gatke, as already de- 

 scribed, asserts is accomplished 

 without molt. 



" My series of twenty specimens 

 illustrating /^w change show that it 

 begins late in March or during the 

 first half of April and is completed 

 in May. They show, furthermore, 

 that it is accomplished by a molt. 

 In proof of this statement I will 

 describe several of these molting 

 birds. No. 3685 (Coll. Geo. B. 

 Sennett, Corpus Christi, Texas, 

 March 28, 1S86) is to all outward 

 appearances in the winter plumage 

 of the adult, but examination shows 

 that the molt is in active progress 

 over the entire body, in the scapulars, 

 tertials, all but the greater series of 

 wing-coverts, the upper and under 

 tail-coverts. . . . Am. Mus. No. 

 45485 (California, April 13, Xantus) 

 closely resembles the preceding 

 .... No. 6042 (Coll. Geo. B. Sen- 

 nett, Corpus Christi, Texas, April 

 20, 1889, Singley) is slightly more 

 advanced than either of the birds 

 just described. JVezv feathers are 

 appearing not only over the -whole 

 body, tertials, lesser and median 

 wing-coverts, but the molt extends 

 to the outer pair of tail-feathers, 



