The Zoologist — March, 1870. 2051 



1 IT. Parti-coloured, Pied, Yellow, Cream-colour, Muddy, or White- 

 feathered Birds, abnormal and unnatural. — Caused by a wrong dis- 

 tribution or entire loss of pigment, from disease, debility, shock, &c. 

 This ailment is often cured at the succeeding moult — frequently at 

 that time reaches its crisis, the whole plumage dying, but still 

 remaining on the skin. Birds that I have shot in this dreadful state 

 are always most emaciated. 



1. White feathers through the plumage. 



2. White feathers, tinged with yellow. 



3. White, tinged with buff or cream. 



4. Entirely white, but not albinos. 



5. Fawn or white. 



6. Fawn or cream-colour. 



7. Gra}' with age. 



8. Dead bleached feathers. 



These abnormities generally occur to first-plumage birds, and are 

 rectified at the next moult; they are more or less common. The 

 bleaching of sapless feathers is very common in young birds and 

 extremely old ones : in youth I have seen the young moult issuing, 

 and though the body is emaciated, still there can be no doubt the 

 moult would eventually prevail. In old birds it seems to be caused 

 by exhausted energies, and is fatal. In the young of the starling this 

 occurs more than in any other bird, the brown first plumage willingly 

 bleaching to a faded or deep cream-colour. 



9. There is a scarce variety in which the head is cinnamon, like the 

 back. Birds reared from the nest should be liable to this, always 

 retaining the plumage of the " gray pate." 



IV. Black. 



1. Pure black. Rare in the goldfinch: it is decidedly caused by 

 age, perhaps promoted by peculiarly rich feeding. The yellow of the 

 wing generally remains as bright as originally. I have never seen wild 

 goldfinches black, but have caged birds. 



2. Dusky, dingy or sooty. A suffusion of these dull shades through 

 the plumage is not uncommon in caged birds. It generally affects 

 the yellow on the wing as well as the rest of the plumage. It is very 

 different from the healthy black plumage. 



3. Where the wings are all black, without yellow. This occurs even 

 with the rest of the body normal. Permanent. 



4. Where the carmine of head is black. Permanent. 



