CHAPTER XIV 



Abnormalities — Hybrids, their characteristics and power of repro- 

 duction or otherwise — ^Abnormal plumages, such as albinism 

 or melanism, temporary or permanent — Overgrowth of claws 

 and bill. 



Abnormalities, both of mating and of plumage and 

 structure, have not received the attention from 

 naturalists which they deserve, though from the 

 philosophic point of view they are often of extreme 

 interest. The few facts that are known about 

 hybrid birds, for instance, are often extremely 

 suggestive. Though generally intermediate in ap- 

 pearance, as is the case with the very well-known 

 hybrid between the Goldfinch and the Canary, 

 they often diflEer from both parents, special decora- 

 tions, for instance, being almost invariably eliminated 

 by the cross, unless common to both species. Thus 

 the hybrid between the Gold Pheasant and the 

 Fowl has neither the comb, wattles, or bending 

 sickle-feathers of the one parent, nor the crest 

 and extreme length of tail of the other, while the 

 colour is of an ordinary auburn or chestnut instead 

 of the rich and variegated hues of the original 

 birds. 



This uniform chestnut hue turns up so fre- 

 quently in Pheasant crosses as to suggest_that the 



