1904-1905.] 319 



" THE FEATHERED WORLD." 



The second paper, entitled " The Feathered AVorld," was 

 read by Mr. Nevin H. Foster, M.B.O.U., who said— The 

 Science of Palaeontology teaches that the older the system of 

 stratified rocks examined the lower in the scale of develop- 

 ment will be found the fossils therein contained. In the geo- 

 logical period known as Triassic the highest order of animal 

 life, so far revealed by its fossil remains, is reptilian ; but in 

 the succeeding Jurassic period is found the first indication of 

 the development of bird life. The first fossil archseopteryx 

 was discovered in the lithographic slate of Bavaria in 1861, 

 and the slab is nov*^ in the British Museum. It reveals to us 

 a bird differing widely from any known living species, the 

 mouth being furnished with a fine set of true teeth, and the 

 tail composed of a number of distinct vertehrce, of whicli 

 each of the twelve posterior carried a pair of feathers, one 

 on each side. A bird may be defined as a warm-blooded, 

 two-legged, vertebrate animal, propagating its species by 

 means of eggs, and whose body is clothed with feathers. This 

 latter characteristic is confined altogether to birds, and no 

 more suitable covering can be conceived of, possessing as it 

 does lightness and warmth with flexibility and rigidity. The 

 structure of feathers was then described, and special attention 

 drawn to the manner in which the web or vane is bound to- 

 gether while still remaining perfectly porous. Modified 

 feathers such as down, filo-plumes, and rictal bristles were 

 also touched upon, as well as the crests or ruffles donned by 

 some species at the beginning of the breeding season. As an 

 instance of this, a picture of the little egret was thrown on 

 the screen. This view showed the long tufts of filiform 

 feathers assumed by this species, for which, to satisfy the 

 caprice of feminine vanity, so many of these birds are ruth- 

 lessly slaughtered every year, and that, too, at a time when 

 the death of the parent bird results in the starvation of the 

 nestlings. Birds are divided into two sub-orders — the ratitce, 

 whose breast-bone is flat or raft-like, containing the kiwi, 

 emu, rhea, cassowary, and ostrich — all flightless birds — and 



