Hugh Wormald—Colour Change in Golden Plover 59


close proximity of a sink with hot and cold water-taps just under

the window, and the presence there of human beings at all hours of the

day. The young Swallows learnt to fly by means of the lattice window,

■whence they took their first flight up to the expanse of outer air at the

bidding of the parent birds, who taught them their first lesson in

aviation.



COLOUR CHANGE IN GOLDEN PLOVER


By Hugh Wormald


About three weeks ago I received some Golden Plover from the

Continent, one of which showed a sprinkling of black feathers on belly

and chin. This bird was lamentably thin and weak, so I separated him

and one other very thin bird from the rest, and put them in a small

very sheltered aviary, where I could feed them up. I examined the

bird assuming summer plumage very carefully, but only found one new

feather growing ; this was on his chin. I caught the bird up every three

days, and although he became blacker and blacker I could not find a

single other young feather, neither could I find a cast feather in the

aviary, which is practically sheltered from every wind and has zinc

up the sides 2 ft. 6 in. high, besides a covered shelter, so that I do not

think any feathers can have blown away. I did find a lot of half-

changed black and white feathers on the bird, which were obviously

old winter feathers. I wrote to Mr. J. G. Millais about this bird, and he

answered : “ Yes, I think Golden Plover get black partly (possibly

principally) by colour change and partly by new full summer feathers

coming in—keep examining his plumage. Some of these half-changed

black and white feathers (which are old winter ones) drop in April and

are replaced by full blacks.” This statement I find to be absolutely

correct. On catching the bird up on 9th April (by then in almost entirely

full summer plumage) I did find several new feathers just through and

quite black, hut none of these feathers showed at all until the bird, was

almost entirely blach on cheeks, chin, throat, breast, and belly. I am well

aware that zoologists deny the possibility of colour-change in old

feathers, and I make no pretence at being scientific, but I have seen quite

enough feathers in Ducks, principally in Wigeon and Garganey Teal,



