1902.] F. Firiu — General Notes on Variation in Birds, 173 



A wliite lojcm wLfch the body aixd taii-feAtliQrs subtetniinally barred 

 with, black in a very regular maunei' is not infi-equeut ; the primaries iu 

 this are smoky-black ou tlie inrLer and. white ou the outer web, not 

 barred as one would expect. Pure white, favyn, and grey varieties 

 occiir ia E.urope, bat apparetLtly not: in India. 



The legs of dark forms of dom^estic birds are horn.-colour, not pink 

 as isL th-0. wild bird ; in light forms they are pinky-white. 



ThiB; occurrence of a downy crest iu tame Turkeys has been discussed 

 by Harwin ; 1 have never come across an instance. 



The tame Turkey shows a distinct increase in the siae of the naked 

 head processes and carunculationa as compared with the wild bird; and 

 the tame Turkeys of India, as Blyth long ago remarked, similarly show 

 a marked increase of development of these parts as compared with 

 European domestic specimens. 



The feet are also coarser than in the wild bird. 



The Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) of Central Europe and Asia has been 

 tame for many centuries in Europe, but has practically lived the life of 

 a wild bird, lai'gely shifting for itself, and often,. when left unpinioned, 

 reverting to the wild state, so that its exact natui-al i*ange is doubtful. 



The species has continued true to type except for the production of 

 one well-marked variety : — 



The Polish Swan {Cygnus immutahills of Yarrell). In this the 

 plumage is white at all ages; and the nestling-down is white. The feet 

 are flesh- or clay-coloured instead of black, and the frontal knob ia 

 smaller. Sometimes the cygnets are fawn-coloured in this form. 



The variety is known to be propagated truly for at least one genera- 

 tion. It has occurred in a wild or feral condition, and has been bred from 

 the ordinary type both in England and of late years on the continent. 



Intermediate forms occur, for the characters are not suflSciently 

 constant to allow of this type ranking as a species, to say nothing of its 

 origin. Those few specimens which I have seen were, however, all 

 readily recognizable and typiQuX. The variation is not recorded to be at 

 all sexually limited . 



The Muscovy Duck {Cairina.moschata) of Tropical America, was, 

 like the Turkey, found in a domesticated state by the Spaniards, but it 

 also exists wild. 



Domestic birds are often nearly true to the wild type, but seldom 

 completely so, as they usually show a few white feathers about the head. 

 The head and upper neck are often grizzled throughout with black and 

 white, ending very definitely, while the rest of the body remains normal. 



Pied birds are common, the black being usually mostly restricted 

 to the crest) back, and tail, but the marking is not very regular. The- 



