AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 279 



Hawks shot in early September only six gave the slightest evidence that 

 the process had not been fully completed, while the Owls were all per- 

 fect. Yet at the same date, of 206 Blue Jays and over 40 Crows which 

 were examined, three-fourths of the Jays gave evidence that moulting 

 was still in progress, pin-feathers still covering the heads of many, and 

 several Crows plainly showed evidence of feather shedding. These 

 observations were made from specimens shot by parties who went out 

 to kill so-called game destroyers, a foolish practice, followed with a 

 zeal worthy of a better cause. Herons of two kinds, and also a large 

 number of Kingfishers gave evidence that the process was completed. 

 Hawks and Owls, which are credited as raisers of a single brood, moult 

 early. Every collector has seen flocks of Semipalmated and Least Sand- 

 pipers and Semipalmated Plovers on the shores of our small interior 

 lakes by August 10th. It is well known that these small waders breed 

 well to our north and only appear with us after nesting and moulting. 

 At'least I have yet to meet with any of these migrants from the far 

 north which gave any evidence of moulting at the time they were with 

 us. 



Some birds are very tough looking individuals during the moult and 

 while the feathers are coming in. At this season they keep quiet, and 

 as much as possible out of sight. There are no species in my neighbor- 

 hood which shed their wing feathers all at once, and all are capable of 

 flying throughout the period. But at the north where the wild geese 

 spend the season, the birds are often so badly handicapped by the tem- 

 porary loss of their quill feathers that the natives catch them in large 

 numbers. The only portion of the plumage that is shed together so 

 that it is noticeable is on the head and neck, that is in districts that I have 

 visited. The shedding of the long feathers is gradual and hardly 

 noticeable, but may be nicely observed in the quill feathers. It takes 

 nearly a month for the completion of the process in the summer or 

 early fall with birds the size of a hawk but there is no time when the 

 birds are not fully able to move about in this section. Sometimes a 

 robin or sparrow may h§ seen without a tail, but this is noticeable for 

 only a few days, as the tail feathers grow in very rapidly. If a bird's 

 quill feathers are cut off in the spring the bird will not be able to fly 

 until the moult occurs in August, when the useless stubs are pushed out 

 by the new feathers. Confinement and improper feeding, together with 

 want of exercise will sometimes greatly retard the process of moulting, 

 as I have repeatedly observed, and the same delay is often noticed in 

 the exfoliation of captive serpents. 



Captive snakes are sometimes all of a month in removing their old 

 slough, whereas the wild individuals are often seen to escape from the 



