PLUMAGE. 37 



1. Is the ear covert, which consists of certain soft feathers, 

 which cover the external organ of hearing-. They vary consider- 

 ably in birds of different species, and on that account they are of 

 considerable use as means of distinction. 



2. The scapulars, or feathers, which cover the shoulders ana 

 shoulder-bones, and the places where the Jmmeri, or first bones 

 of the wing, answering to the bones of the human arm above the 

 elbow, are articulated. They unite, without much distinction, 

 with the common feathers of the back, and along with those of 

 the wings and the sides. The scapular feathers serve only as 

 clothing to the parts which they cover, but they form a thick, 

 and comparatively a downy covering, which, while it admits of 

 easy motion, preserves the important joints which it covers from 

 the varieties of the weather. 



3. The bastard wing. This consists of a greater or smaller 

 number of feathers, bearing some resemblance to the quills of the 

 true wing. They grow from a little bone, which is united to the 

 third or wrist joint of the wing ; and they, and the bones by 

 which they are supported, are generally strong in proportion to 

 the power of flight in the bird. Indeed, there is generally a de- 

 velopment of all that part of the wing which corresponds to the 

 hand, proportional to the power of flying. Thus, in the wing of 

 the Jer Falcon, which may be considered as the bird of finest and 

 most graceful flight, the thumb consists of two distinct bones, 

 and even a marking, as if the last two were united ; and the four 

 fingers may be traced, the first in a long bone, the second in a 

 small one, 'and the third and fourth in two ribs, united by a very 

 thin plate of bone. The use of the bastard wing is not very well 

 known, because the action of the different parts of the wing, 

 during flight, is not easily observed ; but it is probable that it 

 prevents the wing from turning upwards, and even gives the 

 point of it a downward motion, in the contrary direction to that 

 in which the wing is moved, and thus propels it forward. 



4. The lesser wing-coverts. These are the first parts of the 

 plumage of the wings, which in all birds take the form of definite 

 and firm feathers. There are generally several rows of them ; 

 and there are under-coverts, which answer to them, and line the 

 under or inner side of the wings, but these are more slender and 

 downy in their consistence, and, generally speaking, they have 

 less colour. 



5. The greater wing-coverts. These lie under the lesser ones, 

 and are still larger and stronger, stretching a considerable way 

 over the quills or flying feathers, and being supports to these for 

 a greater part of their length than the lesser coverts. They are 

 also much stronger, in proportion to the coverts which answer to 

 them on the under-sides of the wings. 



