Bird Life in August. 



What becomes of the birds in August ? They seem 

 to disappear. Of course this does not apply to birds 

 which are constantly to be seen in the open, as rooks, 

 starlings, lapwings, swallows. But the silence of the 

 woods is scarcely broken by a single note. How little 

 stir and movement of feathered things is there in the 

 lanes, along the hedge-rows, in thicket and plantation. 

 The explanation is simple. August is the moulting 

 month. Presumably birds feel " off colour," a little 

 shabby in dress, not up to the effort of song, disinclined 

 for society. The gay tints and ornaments of nuptial 

 dress are replaced by a quieter and more sober scheme 

 of coloration as the change occurs to what is known as 

 winter plumage. 



To discuss the different cases in which the moult is 

 complete or only partial, and those in which a modi- 

 fication of tint occurs by a change in the colour of 

 individual feathers, without their being shed, would 

 lead us too far afield. But the result is the same ; 

 for the time being birds do not feel at their best. 

 Occasionally one may even be seen unable to fly from 

 loss of quills, — good reason enough for wishing to 



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