90 CHARACTERS OF 



They are all however placed in such a manner as 

 that the action of the wind from before tends to 

 smooth them down, and from behind to raise their 

 points, though differently in different birds, and even 

 on different parts of the same bird. The shoulders, 

 and the turns or front edges of the wings, are the 

 places on which the beautiful application of the fea- 

 thers is most striking, as they are not only the most 

 difficult to fit from their greater curvature, but the 

 ones which are the most exposed during flight. The 

 feathers on these parts are so placed, that let the 

 wind take them as it may, it can hardly raise or 

 ruffle them ; and the strength and curvature of the 

 shafts, and the extent and texture of the webs, are all 

 equally worthy of observation. 



The general texture of the surface of the upper 

 feathers, is in most cases more glossy than that of 

 the under ones ; and in most birds it has more or 

 less of metallic lustre, and generally, though not 

 always, its colours are deeper. 



The structure of the clothing feathers of birds 

 might be almost made a means of classification, as it 

 varies both with climate and with habit. These 

 feathers upon birds of prey are firm and decided, so 

 that each individual feather may be traced ; they are 

 less so in omnivorous birds, less so again in those which 

 feed chieHy upon insects or vegetable matter, and the 

 least so in birds which are the most exclusively 

 aquatic in their habits. Birds of hot climates have 

 also the feathers more decided in the upper part, 

 than those of nearly similar habits which reside in 

 cold countries: indeed the study of the structure, 

 texture, and gloss of the general plumage would, 

 though somewhat more circuitously, lead as certainly 

 to a knowledge of the characters of birds, as that of 

 the more active parts of their bodies. 



