DISTENTION BY AIR. 15:i 



and uther orders. 'I'liat disease of tlie ovary sliould cause 

 the formation of featliers totidly distinct, not only in ooloui-, 

 l)nt in form, from those ]ireviously ])roduced (as is most 

 conspicuously the case of the tippet of the Goklen, or tail of 

 the Silver Pheasant) is a very remai-kable circumstance, and 

 one that has not yet received a satisfactory jihysiological 

 explanation. (See Hamdtun, T.Z.S., IS(J2, Feb. 11.) 



A similar chano-e, l_)ut in the other direction, viz., that of a 

 ccick assuming' female plunnige, has been recorded, but in 

 vei'v rare instances. Mr. J. (J. MiHais mentions a case in the 

 /7,/.v uf LS97 ; the Hon. Widter Rothschild has one in his 

 collection; and three others, in which the change was very 

 snarked, were exhibited by Dr. 11. Hammond Smith at the 

 nieetiug of the Zoological Society, Feb. II, I'Jll. In these 

 la,st ca'^es the sexual organs showed no deviation from the 

 normal. 



^V corres]3ondent wi-iting to nie frum Argyllshire for- 

 wai-ded the body of a young jiliea.sant, in whicli the skin 

 was distended to an enormous extent with air. The cir- 

 cumference of the neck immediately behind the head was 

 oin., at the base of tlie neck 7in., and I'ound the body 

 loin. No other evidenct' uf disease was jierceptilde on 

 ]i()St-mortem exauimation. 'I'he binl, an early hatched 

 <ine, was in vei'y a'ood plumage, having a.li-eady moulteil 

 two of the primai'y wing feathers. iMy correspondent 

 stated that his keeper found several birds in the saua-' 

 condition. The Ijird, when alive, was iu the same l)loated 

 condition as when forwarded. 



The case was not one of disease, but accident, hh'oui some 

 cause or other one of the air cavities which jiervade to ,i 

 greater or less extent the bodies of all birds, and even extend 

 into the bones, had become ruptured, and the air during the 

 breathing of the bird had esca,ped under the skin, distending 

 it to the extent descrilied. This rujiture of an air cell might 

 have arisen spontaneously or from some injury. In either 

 case it was not necessaril_y fatal. H' the keeper had made 



