WINGS FIRST TO FEATHER 123 



The Game-birds, then, typify one method of 

 fledging, which is found among few others than 

 them, that of the wings developing long before 

 the rest of the plumage. Even our domestic 

 chickens show this well, although not " able to fly 

 in a few hours," as a much- respected authority 

 stated. Chicks of this type pick up most of their 

 food, though the hen often draws their attention 

 to it ; young Peafowl and Turkeys do not begin 

 to feed for a longer period after hatching than 

 Fowls, a peculiarity which is no doubt the reason 

 why poultry-keepers stigmatize Turkey-chicks as 

 stupid, and needing to be " taught to peck " — 

 the real reason being that the yolk in the intestines 

 at the time of hatching lasts them longer than it 

 . does Fowl-chicks, though even these need nothing 

 for the first twenty-four hours. 



Besides the Game-birds, Hemipodes, and Tina- 

 mous, the Rhea and the common Cape Penguin 

 {Spheniscus demersus) exhibit the peculiarity of 

 fledging first on the wings. 



At the ;Other extreme of precocity comes the 

 Fowl's domestic companion, the Duck ; ducklings 

 are even more lively than chickens, need less brooding 

 and for a shorter period, and are more enterprising 

 in foraging for food, on land as well as in what is 

 popularly regarded as their only proper element. 

 In fact, a poultry-breeder once complained to me 

 that ducklings of the Indian Runner breed simply 

 ran away from the old hens who were acting as 

 foster-mothers, who could not keep up with them, 



