402 



II I II D. 



part of the head are naked, and often beautifully 

 coloured, as is the case in the king vulture. When a 

 large portion of the throat or neck is naked, there is 

 generally some portion of the neck or breast covered 

 with hair, or at least with feathers very much 

 resembling hair in their form ; but what connexion 

 there is between the nakedness of one part and this 

 species of covering on an adjoining one has not been 

 ascertained. 



When the naked skin on the head, or partially on 

 the neck, covers appendages rather than the natural 

 form of the parts, it is found principally in the male 

 birds ; and in the pairing season, these appendages 

 increase in size and heighten in colour, their general 

 colour being red of some shade or other, often with 

 blue reflections ; but in many birds they are, at the 

 season alluded to, of the most intense scarlet. The 

 females of the gallinaceous birds, have generally some 

 portions of naked skin on the sides of the head, 

 which bloom and fade with the season, in the same 

 manner as those of the males, though not with equal 

 intensity. 



No particular name is given to- the naked skin on 

 the feet of birds, unless it covers appendages, or 

 extends farther up than the articulations of the tarsi, 

 which are often styled the knees, but which are in 

 reality the ankle joints of the birds. When there is 

 a portion above these unfeathered, it is called the 

 garter. It occurs chiefly in running and wading 

 birds, and sometimes it is differently coloured from 

 the rest of the feet. The appendages to the feet of 

 birds consist of margins, lobes, and webs, which have 

 all reference to water, or to soft and sludgy surfaces; 

 and therefore the description of them falls properly 

 within that of the general account of the feet of birds, 

 as characteristic of their haunts and of one of their 

 principal actions. 



With the exceptions above stated, the bodies of 

 birds are covered with feathers. These feathers are 

 of three, or even of four kinds, down or under- 

 clothing, common clothing, or imbricated feathers, 

 flying feathers, and supplemental or ornamental fea- 

 thers, of which the uses, in the economy of those 

 birds which possess them, are not very well known. 



Before proceeding to consider the situation, struc- 

 ture, and use of the principal feathers upon birds, it may 

 assist those who have not previously studied the subject, 

 to examine the figure in the next column. Feathers 

 vary so much with the habits of birds that it is impos- 

 sible to select a specimen possessing all the varieties 

 of characters ; and therefore we have selected the 

 common magpie, as one which is well marked in its 

 general character, and also easily observed, from 

 being of common occurrence and rather familiar in its 

 habits. It is necessary, however, to notice, that the 

 magpie is a peculiar bird, and that its form necessarily 

 accords with this peculiarity, so that no general con- 

 clusion can be drawn from it ; but we should have 

 had nearly the same limited representation if we had 

 selected any other specimen. The magpie is alter- 

 nately a tree and a ground bird ; and its structure 

 adapts it for leaping up and down, and making its way 

 among tangled branches, rather than for long flight. 

 For this purpose, the wings are only of moderate 

 length, but they, are well adapted for taking the air at 

 all angles, and also for turning. The tail too is much 

 produced, capable of considerable action, and wedge- 

 shaped ; the first and second properties being requi- 

 site in the frequent ascents and descents of the bird, 



and the last, in avoiding the twigs and other obstacles 

 which the bird could not have so well avoided if the 

 tail had been square at the end. 



MAGPIB IHSPI.AVRD, SHOWIVO TIIK MORK REMARKABLE 

 PARTS op A BIRD. A, the ear coverts. B, the bastard wing. 

 C, the lesser coverts. D, the middle coverts. E, the greater 

 coverts. F, the primary quills. G, the fcapulare. H, the se 

 condary quills. I, the nape. K, the under tail coverts (not 

 shown). L, The rump and upper tail coverts. 



No particular name is <riven to the common clothing 

 feathers on the head of a bird, but they are dis- 

 tinguished by the names of the parts on which they 

 are situated as the front or fore-head, the crown, 

 and the occiput or nape, on the upper part ; the 

 cheeks on the sides ; and the chin on the under part. 

 There are often, however, supplemental feathers on 

 the head, and these are distinguished as crests, 

 conchse, or beards, according to their situation. 

 Crests consist of produced feathers on the upper part 

 of the head, sometimes standing over the whole, or a 

 greater or smaller portion of that, and nearly covering 

 the eyes, as in some varieties of poultry ; sometimes 

 they are long and pendent from the nape, as in 

 herons, divers, and generally in birds which strike 

 forward with the bill with long and swift motion, in 

 which the crest appears to answer nearly the same 

 purpose as the feathers on a dart or arrow. 



The concha? are formed either round the eyes or 

 the ears, but generally round the former. They are 

 most conspicuous in nocturnal birds, especially in the 

 owls ; and they seem to answer sonic purpose in 

 concentrating toward the eyes the faint light in which 

 those birds habitually seek their food. The tendency 

 to produce enlarged feathers on the sides of the head 

 in some birds of this tribe is so great, that they rise 

 on the sides of the head something in the same 

 manner as the ears of cats ; and the species which 



