PART I 



EXTERNAL PARTS AND THE TERMS NEEDED 

 FOR THEIR DESCRIPTION 



CHAPTER I 

 BIRDS AND THEIR FEATHERS 



Thekb is no group in Nature which can be defined so accu- 

 rately and so easily as that of birds. Birds are animals with 

 feathers. All animals with feathers are birds. Many other 

 peculiarities might be mentioned ; many statements might be 

 made about the structure and the organs of birds, which would 

 make us realize more comprehensively the differences between 

 them and other animate forms. A complete definition is neces- 

 sary for the ornithologist; but many years' work in botany 

 and zoology in schoolrooms has convinced the author that such 

 statements are beyond the comprehension of beginners, and 

 that any attempt to force them on the pupils at the start 

 results in loss of interest in the work. Full knowledge is a 

 growth, hence the end, not the beginning, of the book is the 

 place for a complete definition of birds. 



The great external parts of birds are the head, the body, 

 the tail, the wings, and the legs ; these parts will be treated in 

 subsequent chapters. The feathers form the covering, more or 

 less complete, of all these parts. Feathers are the most won- 

 derfully complex and perfect of skin growths. They not only 

 protect the body from the effects of all atmospheric changes, 



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