(K (^roftcn 5^at^er 



In the snow bunting all but two of the old primaries 

 are gone before any new ones have grown as large as 

 the secondaries. In the hawks, again, birds that must 

 use their wings and must have them always at their 

 best, the moulting of the wing feathers is very slow, 

 lasting nearly the whole year. The homing pigeon, 

 another great flier, but not of the same kind as the 

 hawks, begins about May to moult his wing feathers, 

 losing the tenth primary first, a month later the ninth, 

 then the others at intervals of from eight to fifteen 

 days. 



It is quite enough to make one pause, to make one 

 even wonder, when he finds that this seemingly in- 

 significant matter is taken so seriously by nature, 

 and that even here there is that perfect adaptation 

 of means to end. The gosling, to cite another in- 

 stance, goes six weeks in down, then gets its first 

 feathers, which it sheds in the fall. The young quail, 

 on the other hand, is born with quills so far advanced 

 that it is able to fly almost as soon as it is hatched. 

 These are mature feathers ; but the bird is still young 

 and growing, and soon outgrows these first flight 

 feathers, so that they are quickly lost and new ones 

 come. This goes on till fall, several moults occurring 



