THE AUNT JANE STORIES. 



II. THE PLUMAGE OF BIRDS. 



The children were returning from the 

 bird fancier's where they had just pur- 

 chased a canary, and Aunt Jane had 

 promised to tell them something about 

 the plumage of birds, during the home- 

 ward drive; so after the enthusiasm 

 over the beautiful plumage of the new 

 canary had subsided a little, Aunt Jane 

 began. "Who has fathomed the phil- 

 osophy of a bird's wing or mastered the 

 science of its infinite variety of plumage ? 

 The formation of a feather is a mar- 

 velous performance of nature . The barb, 

 the web, the color are all exquisite speci- 

 mens qf handiwork which art fails to 

 surpass or even to equal." 



"Is it true. Auntie," Howard asked, 

 "that at certain seasons there are birds 

 who put on a special dress ?" 



"Yes indeed, there are male birds who 

 at mating-time assume a distinctive 

 plumage as if desirous to appear in a 

 wedding garment that by its beauty will 

 render them particularly attractive to 

 their mates." 



"Do give us some examples," cried 

 Edith, unlike Howard, "I have never 

 heard of such birds before." 



'This habit is notably the case with 

 the little sparrow-like bird called the 

 widouh, or widow-bird. It develops 

 an extraordinary growth of tail feathers 

 which are sometimes a foot long. They 

 droop gracefully in the form of a sickle 

 over its mite of a body. As this orna- 

 mental train impedes flight it is fortunate 

 that it is only tem.porary, being laid aside 

 when the nesting season is over. The 

 Australian superb warbler changes his 

 hue at breeding time, assuming an 

 enameled, glossy dress of intense color. 

 More cautious, the black red-shank 

 dons a mating dress, which corresponds 

 to its favorite nesting place." 



"Do think of some more," cried the 

 interested children, as Aunt Jane paused. 



"Let me see ; yes, there is a bird of 



most singular plumage called the 'ruff/ 

 so named for the Elizabethan frill which 

 he wears reversed, in order to form a 

 shield over his breast, which, as the 

 feathers are stiff, is impenetrable to the 

 bill of a rival. He is a sandpiper and 

 wears his envious wedding garment only 

 in the spring*. This collar varies in color 

 from deepest black tO' white and is often 

 barred and sometimes glossed with violet, 

 blue and green." 



"How pretty he must be when he puts 

 on his ruff," cried Madge, "I do so like 

 sandpipers. When we were camping at 

 Lake Superior, don't you all remember 

 how the sandpipers there would come 

 at the call of the Indians even near 

 enough to be captured?" 



"Celia Thaxter liked the sandpiper," 

 said Edith, "she says — • 

 'Stanch friends are we, well tried and strong, 

 The little sand-piper and I.' " 



"Now think of it," said Aunt Jane, 

 "although the grebe in an inconspicuous 

 bird there is one species that has a crest 

 generally golden chestnut in color, which 

 it adopts at the mating season. The 

 crest surrounds the head like a glittering 

 nimbus or aureole greatly adding to the 

 bird's personal appearance." 



"I once found," said Howard, "a lesser 

 grebe — I think there are several species 

 of the grebe in North America — stranded 

 in a cornfield, its wings exhausted by its 

 long flight. The toes I noticed, were 

 furnished with broad lobes of skin to 

 assist it in diving, but which were, of 

 course, no use to it so far from the water- 

 course it was doubtless seeking. But do 

 go on with your story of birds of unusual 

 plumage." 



"Birds that frequent the desert are 

 often sand colored. Some that take 

 shelter in the deep shadows cast by the 

 rocks are dark or black. The woodcock, 

 you know, is colored so like his sur- 

 roundings that hunters say they detect 



