Auk 
Recent Literature. 
Jan. 
IIo 
plucked from this species at various dates form a series depicted in a 
colored plate, which purports to show a color change without moult. It 
so happens, however, that Mr. Chapman has also studied the Sanderling 
(Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1896, pp. 1-8) and states that the change 
is duetoa moult. That all who read may each judge for himself which of 
the two writers has the best claim to credence, I make use of the ‘deadly 
parallel column,’ italicizing the important features. Mr. Millais’s remarks 
are given in the first column, Mr. Chapman’s in the second. 
Mr. MILLAIS. 
“Tllustrations are given (Plate X, 
figs. 8-12) showing the gradual 
change of a feather from the back 
of the neck during the period ex- 
tending from March to August. 
«. .. Mr. Allen’s chief argument 
seems to be that a feather once 
completed is dead and retains no 
further power of transmitting color 
through the quill from the epider- 
mis. Now if this were the case how 
is it that we find a feather like that 
of figs. 9, 10 and 11—feathers which 
are to be found in the plumage of 
the bird during successive months? 
According to Mr. Allen the bird 
would have to renew its feathers 
every month which is a manifest 
impossibility. As there can be no 
reasonable doubt that the same 
feather goes through the changes 
exhibited in figs. 9-12 (because there 
zs no moult during that period ), and 
as we have the proof of all interme- 
diate changes of the feathers taking 
place, there seems equally little 
reason to doubt that fig. 8 passes 
into fig. 9, for here again we have 
the transition shown. We know 
that many of the small perching 
birds assume their summer plumage 
by means of the gray edgings of the 
feathers wearing off; 7 do not, how- 
ever, think that this takes place 
Mr. CHAPMAN. 
“This brings us to the change 
from winter to breeding plumage, 
which Herr GAatke, as already de- 
scribed, asserts is 
without molt. 
accomplished 
“My series of twenty specimens 
illustrating ¢hzs change show that it 
begins late tn March or during the 
first half of April axd ds completed 
in May. They show, furthermore, 
that zt zs accomplished by a molt. 
In proof of this statement I will 
describe several of these 
birds. No. 3685 (Coll. Geo. B. 
Sennett, Corpus Christi, Texas, 
March 28, 1886) is to all outward 
appearances in the winter plumage 
of the adult, but examination shows 
that the molt zs tn active progress 
molting 
over the entire body, in the scapulars, 
tertials, all but the greater series of 
wing-coverts, the upper and under 
tail-coverts. ... Am. Mus. No. 
45485 (California, April 13, Xantus) 
closely resembles the preceding 
. .. » No. 6042 (Coll. Geo. B. Sen- 
nett, Corpus Christi, Texas, April 
20, 1889, Singley) is slightly more 
advanced than either of the birds 
just described. Mew feathers are 
appearing not only over the whole 
body, tertials, lesser and median 
wing-coverts, but the molt extends 
to the outer pair of tail-feathers, 
