198 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIME'NT STATION. I9II. 



of the two hypothetical components of the monthly fecundity 

 distributions follows a simple, unimodal skew frequency curve, 

 and that the curve describing the entire monthly fecundity dis- 

 tribution is in each case the sum of two skew frequency curves. 



DOKs "prote;ctive coloration" in poultry regally prote;ct? 

 It is an obvious and easily demonstrated physical fact that 

 fowls with a barred or broken color pattern are relatively incon- 

 spicuous as compared with birds with either solid black or 

 white plumage, or so dark in general color that any pattern 

 which may be present is not visible except on close examination. 

 Does the inconspicuousness of barred birds protect them against 

 their natural enemies, such as crows, hawks, foxes, rats, etc.? 

 Some two years ago C. B. Davenport published a short note 

 regarding the relative number of self-colored and of "pencilled 

 or striped" chicks killed by crows one afternoon, at Cold 

 Spring Harbor. The rather striking result was that out of 24 

 birds killed, only one was other than self-colored. The com- 

 munication closes with the following words : "This fragment, 

 then, so far as it goes, indicates that the self-colors of poultry, 

 which have arisen under domestication, tend to be eliminated 

 by the natural enemies of these birds, and the pencilled birds 

 are relatively immune from attack because relatively incon- 

 spicuous." 



Records kept at this Station in connection with the breeding 

 work throw light on this matter. A discussion of these records 

 has recently been published.* The results may be summarily 

 stated as follow^s : 



We have the following figures, it being understood that 

 "eliminated" means "killed by natural enemies" with the inclu- 

 sion of the small number of birds which lost their bands. (See 

 original for details). 



Total number of birds on range ==3,343 



Number of barred birds =3,007 



Number of solid-colored birds = 336 



Total number of eliminated birds = 325 



Number of barred birds eliminated = 290 



Number of solid-colored birds eliminated =: 35 



* Data on the Relative Inconspicuousness of Barred and Self-colored 

 Fowls. American Naturalist, Vol. XLV, pp. 107-177. 191 1. 



