THE GALLINACEOUS BIRDS 



365 



miciilations. The deep cliestnut horse- 

 shoe on the breast of the adult bird must 

 not be depended upon as a sure sexual 

 distinction ; the coloration of the wing 

 coverts is a more certain guide, for this 

 includes longitudinal markings in the 

 male, but barred markings in the female. 

 In the young liirds the beak is dark 

 browTi, but this fades into pale olive 

 brown with age. The legs are at first 

 pale yellow ; they then deepen into 

 brown and fade into slaty grey. 



Until full plumage is entirely assumed, 

 by about the beginning of November, 

 birds of the year may be recognised by 

 the fact that the base of the third long 

 wing feather (the last to be moulted) is 

 still supple and soft, whilst in old birds 

 the entire quill is stiff and hard. The 

 male Frenchman has horny knobs in 

 place of spurs, and the larger these excres- 

 cences are the older and, when full-grown, 



the t(jugher he will be. Young birds of 

 this species are only to be distinguished 

 from their ])arents by the fact that they 

 are less highly-coloured ; the black and 

 white of the gorget is less distinctly 

 marked. In the first feathering the 

 young birds are loosely feathered, and 

 ragged in appearance, while the cinerous 

 brown of the upper plumage is splashed 

 with lighter markings. 



The two species, when disturbed en 

 famille, rise differently. A covey of 

 English birds generally leave the ground 

 almost simultaneously and settle again 

 together, whilst the more crafty and 

 running Frenchmen take wing much 

 more independently, and frequently ahght 

 far apart from one another. And a 

 fine chuckling the old cock bird frequently 

 makes in calling his scattered family 

 together when danger disappears ! 



Maurice C. H. Bird. 



EASANT AND NEST. 



PH 



