110 



GENERAL OHNITUOLOGY. 



they are so much reduced in modem bu-ds as to he of littht accouut in jiractical oniithohigy. 

 In fact, tlie unpractised student may fail to recognize them at hrst. Tlicy form a small pacliet 

 on the fore t>uter border of the pinion near the carpal angle, and lie ymoothly upon the npjH'r 

 surface of the wing, strengthening and finishing ott' what would he otherwise a weak spot in 

 the contour of the wing-border. It is (juite easy, on recognizing tlieni, to lift tlieni collectix'ely 

 a little away from the (jther feathers, «}wing to tlie slight mobility the thumb jiossesses. In fact, 

 they are sometimes quite <ibtrnsive, when faulty taxidermy has discomposed them. They ai-e 

 not often conspicuously modified eitlna- in size or color, hi a fe\i' birds {e.g., Cathartcs], a claw 

 will be found at the end of the joint A;'hich bears them. The student must be careful to dis- 

 criminate between the use of the word spurious in the present connection and its application 

 to a rudimentary conditiim of tlie first remex (see p. 113). The 



Wing-Coverts overlie the bases of the large (|uills on botlr the upiier and under surl'ac(>s 



of the wing. Tliey arc therefore conveniently divided into an upper set (tectrices stijji'riores) 



and an under set (fecf. iiifrriores). 'J'lie firuiei' arc^ so mucli more cons]iicuous than the latter 



-, that they are always under- 



I /]&??>-,-____ stood when " up])er" is not 



specified. Tlie latter are 



sometimes collectively calh'd 



"tlie lining of the wings." 



Coverts inidude all the siintll 



feathers of the wings except - 



ing the bastard quills ; they 



extend a varying distance 



along the bases of the tiight- 



feathers. The ordinary dis- 



])Osition and divisiiui of the 



iipjier coverts is as fulhnvs : 



( )iie set, rather long and stif- 



iisb, grow upon the pinion, 



and are close-pressed upon 



(lie bases of the outer nine 



or ten reiiiiges, covering 

 Fig. 30. — Feathers of a eparrow'K wing; iiat. size. (For e.xplanatiou see te.xt.) , , ,• i i 



these large leathers alioutas 



far as their structure is plumulaceous. These are the upper primary coverts, or coverts of the 



primaries (fig. 30, pc) ; they arc; ordinarily the least conspicuous of any. All the rest of the 



upper coverts are secondary; they spring mostly from the forearm. These are considered in 



three groups or rows. The greater upper secondary coverts, called simply the "greater coverts " 



(tectrices majores, fig. 30, gsc,) are the first, outermost, longest mw, reacliing nearest the tips of 



the flight-feathers; they overlie the bases of nearly all the reiuiges, excepting the first nine or 



ten. The median upper secondary coverts, shortly known as tlie "middle coverts" Qectriccs 



media:), are a next row, shorter and therefore less exposed, but still i[iiite evidently forming a 



special series (fig. 30, msc). It is a common feature of these median coverts that they shingle 



over each other contrary-wise to the way the greater coverts are imbricated, the outer vane of 



one being under the inner vane of the next outer one. All the rest of the ujiper secondary 



coverts, forming several indistinguishable rows, pass imdi.'r the general name of lesser corert.'i 



(tectrices minores ; fig. 30, 6c). The greater coverts furnish an excellent zoological character ; 



for in no Passeres are they more than half as long as the remiges they cover, while the reverse 



is the case in most birds of lower orders. Woodpeckers, however, though non-passerine, have 



quite short coverts. The under coverts have the same general arranginiuait as the upper; but 



