COLOUR IN BIRDS AND QUADRUPEDS. 203 



out blue, edged outwardly with brown ; the moulting has proceeded 

 rather slowly, owing, no doubt, to the cold weather. On the 21st of 

 March young feathers were still making their appearance on various 

 parts of the body, whilst the first feathers that appeared after the moult 

 were bright blue, even to their extremities ; the latter ones are still, 

 along their outer edges, near their points, tipped with brown and drab, 

 which continue to brighten as the feathers become more matured. 

 The male undoubtedly attains his bright and perfect plumage before 

 he is a year old. Although I have occasionally seen a young male in 

 early spring with a few brown feathers (the result, no doubt, of an 

 imperfect moult), yet, out of many hundreds that I have noticed in 

 the breeding season,! have never seen any males that were not in full 

 plumage. They are not subject to a change of colour during winter, 

 as supposed by Wilson, nor do they require three years to attain their 

 full plumage, as stated by Audubon. 



Fringilla ciris, Painted Bunting. This beautiful and social species 

 is very common among the caged birds of the south. Having long 

 preserved it in an aviary, where it raised two or three broods in a sea- 

 son, I have it in my power to state, from personal observation, the 

 changes through which it passes from immature to perfect plumage. 

 For the period of a year, the male strongly resembles the female, being 

 of an olive green colour above. The birds moulted late in autumn, 

 without any perceptible change of colour. In this homely dress they 

 in the following spring commenced building their nests, rearing their 

 young, and, with their sprightly song, cheering the females engaged in 

 incubation. In August and September they began to moult ; the new 

 feathers on the head came out bright blue ; those on the breast of a 

 light ash colour, tinged with carmine ; the colours on the head appeared 

 to have been received in their full perfection, immediately after the 

 moult ; those on the breast and neck continued to brighten gradually 

 for some weeks. The perfect plumage, as far as it is acquired in this 

 species in confinement, was obtained in less than two years. Our or- 

 nithologists have assigned the period of four or five years for this pro- 

 cess. To the objections which may be urged against experiments 

 made on birds in confinement, as affording no certain guide in ascer- 

 taining the time at which they arrive at full plumage, it may be ob- 

 VI. — 3 A 



