G Groken Feather 
black and white bobolink appears. Specimens taken 
after their arrival here still show traces of the yellow 
veil. 
Many birds do not have this spring moult at all, 
and with most of those that do, the great wing 
feathers are not then renewed as are bobolink’s, but 
only at the annual moult after the nesting is done. 
In fact, the moulting of the remiges, or wing feathers, 
seems to be a family affair, the process differing with 
different families ; for these are the bird’s most impor- 
tant feathers, and their loss is so serious a matter 
that Nature has come to make the change according 
to the habits and needs of the birds. 
With all birds the order is for the body feathers 
to begin to go first, then the wings, and last the 
tail. But the shedding of the wing feathers is a very 
slow and carefully regulated process. In the wild 
geese and other water birds the wing feathers drop 
out with the feathers of the body, and all go so simul- 
taneously that the birds cannot fly. On land you could 
catch them with your hands, but they keep near or 
on the water and thus escape, though times have 
been when it was necessary to protect them from 
their human enemies at this season by special laws. 
143 
