REPEODUCTION AND PLUMAGE. 7 



begin to make their appearance, like little yellow or black spikes projecting from the 

 wings, but it is not until after the lapse of some time that they attain sufficient strencrfh 

 to sustain the bird in the air. In a few months after the young bird has gained its first 

 plumage, it loses the feathers with which it has only just been clothed, and by going 

 through the process technically termed "moulting," indues an entirely new plumaoe, 

 which is often very different from the former in its traits and general aspect. In many 

 cases the bird spends three years of life before it is clothed with the full glory of its adult 

 garments, and during the first and second years the two sexes are so similar as hardly to 

 be distinguished from each other without dissection. The moult takes place annually 

 even in adult birds, and is highly needful as a means of giving them a new set of plumes 

 to replace those which have been worn out by the service of a whole year's w^ear. 



A similar phenomenon is observable in the fur-clad mammalia, who shed the worn 

 and ragged hairs in the autumn, and obtain a new and w^arm coat in readiness for the 

 colder months. Even in the human race the same principle is observed ; but the change 



HE C 



SWALLOW-TAILED FALCON.— (Showing the Feathers.) 



of hair is in them so gradual that it is scarcely perceptible, except to those who watch its 

 progress. Indeed, a partial moult can be induced at any time upon a bird, and employed 

 to restore a broken or damaged feather, irrespective of the time of year. If the injured 

 feather be drawn from its socket — an operation which is always attended with some pain 

 and loss of blood — it will soon be replaced by another and a perfect feather, springing 

 from the same socket. 



The rapidity of the process is really astonishing, and presents a curious analogy with 

 the phenomenon of the rapid formation of the stag's horns. A remarkable instance 

 occurred lately within my own observation, in the person of a long-tailed Australian 

 parrakeet. The bird contrived to get out of its cage, and in tiying along a large 

 room was chased by a man, who made a successful grasp at its tail, but failed in 

 securing the bird, which flew screaming away, leaving its beautifiQ long tail in the hands 

 of its would-be captor. At last the bird was replaced safely in its cage, but presented a 

 very forlorn aspect in consequence of the loss of its tail. A very few days, however, 

 showed the tips of some new feathers, that had already grown long enough to pass beyond 

 the tail coverts, and in a month or so the long tail was even mere beautiful than ever. 



