PARAGRAPHS ON PLUMAGE. 253 



of them being brilliantly painted in the most 

 gorgeous tints. Some birds have a few hair-like 

 filaments at the back of the head, only detected 

 by the closest scrutiny the Blackbird, for 

 example. 



On many species the chief pattern of colour 

 is stamped on the belly. This is most remark- 

 able on birds of otherwise protectively coloured 

 plumage, which depend for their safety on the 

 harmony of their colours with surrounding objects. 

 A familiar instance is to be seen in the brown 

 horse-shoe mark on the Common Partridge, and 

 the brilliant black belly of the Golden Plover 

 and the Dunlin in breeding plumage. Others 

 have this colour pattern on the lower back and 

 upper tail coverts. In how many birds, for 

 instance, does a white rump prevail species, too, 

 as widely distinct as the Rock Dove and the 

 House Martin, the Wheatear and the Bullfinch, 

 and some Petrels. The mantle is also another 

 portion of a bird's plumage, which is often 

 emphasized by the same colour in many remotely 

 allied species, or in entire groups of others. The 

 region of the vent and under tail coverts has also 

 been selected for the display of much brilliant 

 pattern of colour, as in the Bulbuls, for example. 



The wings of birds have also much pattern of 

 colour in common. In a great number of species 

 the wing coverts are selected for the display of 

 various brilliant or striking colours ; in others, 

 bars are exhibited ; in some the quills are parti- 



