CHAPTER IV 



MOULTING AND COLOUR FEEDING 



The Moult is a natural process ordained by Nature, 

 and when birds are properly cared for it should not be 

 the cause of any special anxiety to the owner. The 

 process of throwing the feathers in a bird is very like the 

 shedding of its leaves by a tree. There is much in the 

 two processes that is alike, and yet they are really very 

 different. They are similar in so far as the shedding pro- 

 cess is concerned, but altogether different in the taking 

 on of a new coat. In both cases the old garb is thrown 

 off, but whereas the bird at the same time grows a new 

 coat the trees leave that part of the business till the follow- 

 ing spring. 



The leaves on a tree grow and grow till such time as 

 their veins are filled with the matter from which they ob- 

 tain their life. This is followed by a suspension of the grow- 

 ing process, but, owing to the fact that in leaves, as in 

 other things, there can be no life without movement or 

 circulation,' the leaves after a time droop and fall away. 

 In somewhat the same way does a feather receive sus- 

 tenance, grow, then gradually lose its strength, wither and 

 is cast off. 



The Structure and Composition of Feathers. 



Before we can properly understand the process of 

 moulting in the canary, it is essential that we should 

 have some elementary knowledge of the structure and 

 composition of feathers. For this purpose let us take a 

 feather and examine it carefully. What do we find ? 

 Speaking generally of its structure we find it composed of 

 three parts — the quill, the shaft, and the vein. By the 

 former the feather is held in its socket in the skin of the 



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