Heads and Necks 



259 



add nothing. Note the slender shafts which rise from 

 the head of the Indian Peacock, each one tipped with a 

 dainty feather tuft; and the variation in the crest of its 

 splendid cousin from Java. In one of the Birds of Para- 

 dise, six long, fan-tipped shafts extend backward from 

 the head, much longer than, but similar to, the crest of 

 the Indian Peacock. The California Partridge has a tiny, 



Fig. 201. — California Partridges, showing difference in crest of male and 



female birds. 



club-shaped crest which points in a forward direction, 

 and, when the bird is excited, the feathers which com- 

 pose it spread out, breaking into a fan. The ornament 

 of the Plumed Partridge is a long,, sweeping plume. The 

 crest of the curassow is most peculiar, being composed 

 of curly, recurved feathers, resembling in texture and 

 appearance jet-black or parti-coloured shavings. 



The nuptial plumes of the Night Heron hang far down 

 upon its shoulders, and the soft barbs are curved inward, 



