Featl 



lers 



21 



to be entirely naked; but a closer ins|)ef'ti()n shows 

 scanty tufts of down scattered irrej^ularly over the body. 

 This, like the set of milk-teeth in niannnals, is useful 

 only for a time, and is later pushed out by the second 

 or true plumage. Even more numerous than llie down- 



FiG. 10.— Brown Pelican nestlings, showing feather papilla- on body and wings. 



Abont 1 4 natural size. 



tufts are little jHmjiles or dots, many hundreds of which 

 cover certain parts of the skin. Each of these will event- 

 ually give rise to a j^erfect feather — quill, vane, l)arl)s, 

 and all. 



The under layer of skin, or dermis, is very thin in 

 birds, much more so than in reptiles and other animals. 



