34 LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



This information, so important to the intelligent sportsman, 

 can be easily and quickly acquired by reference to the accom- 

 panying drawing, in connection with the explanations following 

 immediately after. 



1, Auricular s, the ear coverts. The soft feathers that cover 

 the organs of hearing. 



2, 2. The bastard wing, consisting of three or five feathers, 

 resembling the quills of the true wing; they are placed on a 

 small bone rising from the wrist-joint of the wing. The bastard 

 wing assists in flight by keeping the wing from turning upwards, 

 and contracts the points of the wing in a downward and backward 

 position to that of the course of the bird through the air. 



3, 3. The lesser coverts of the wings. These are the feathers 

 which are found in successive rows upon the wings; those on 

 the inside are termed under coverts, and are much less regarded 

 by ornithologists as a means of distinction than the others. 



4, 4. The greater coverts. The wing feathers lying under the 

 lesser coverts ; they are much larger and stronger than the latter. 



5, 5. The primaries. Large quill feathers taking their growth 

 from below the w r rist-joint. The length and proportion of the 

 feathers control, in a wide degree, the movements of the bird in 

 the air. The nearer the longer primary quill approaches the 

 body, the more dexterous and beautiful will be the motion of 

 the bird when on the wing. The Hawks, Swallows, and various 

 other birds of rapid flight, that seize their prey in mid air, 

 have the longest primary feather very near the body, and con- 

 sequently are enabled to turn and twist themselves with great 

 facility. 



6, 6. The secondaries, or second quill feathers, spring from the 

 second bone of the wing. When the wing is extended, they fre- 

 quently appear like a continuation of the primaries. 



7, 7. The tertiary, or third quill feathers, also arise from the 

 second bone, but much nearer the elbow-joint. 



8, 8. The scapulars, or shoulder feathers, are formed by the 

 soft and downy feathers that cover the shoulder-bones, and are 



