THE LIFE-HISTORY OF BIRDS 277 



sexes, succeeded by a decorative dress worn by the males only 

 during the greater part of the year, as in most of the Ducks. 

 The Game-birds belong to this section, or rather have just 

 emerged therefrom, some species, e.g.. Blackcock and Jungle 

 Fowl, retaining traces of the fleeting, dull plumage on the head 

 and neck only. 



4. A dull plumage worn by both sexes till after the first 

 moult, and then succeeded by a decorative plumage worn 

 throughout the whole year, e.g., Starling. 



5. A decorative, brilliantly coloured plumage assumed on 

 leaving the nest, without any preceding dull dress, as in Parrots 

 and many Kingfishers. 



Thus then we have a series of ascending phases terminating 

 in a brilliantly coloured, permanent livery. As might be ex- 

 pected, in each of these groups we find exceptions to the rule, 

 though these exceptions, far from tending to confute these 

 arguments, tend rather to lend them weight. 



Certain periodic or '' seasonal " changes of plumage, which 

 are generally regarded as especially protective in character, 

 stand a little apart from the cases just described. The first of 

 these is that of the so-called " eclipse " plumage of the Ducks, 

 a name very appropriately coined by the celebrated Charles 

 Waterton. And this because the male, as soon as his expecta- 

 tions of a family are realised, that is to say, in June, doffs his 

 coat of many colours and puts on a livery very closely re- 

 sembling that of his spouse, and so closely that it takes an ex- 

 pert to distinguish the sexes at this time. Now it is believed 

 that this dress has been adopted to secure to him for a season 

 the same measure of protection from prowling enemies that this 

 sombre garb assures to the female, whose life is important at 

 this time on account of her family. This protection he requires 

 because of the fact that the annual renewal of the quill or flight 

 feathers takes place, not by the substitution of new feathers for 

 old in pairs, but by the loss of the whole series at once ; so that, 

 until the new feathers have completed their growth, he is help- 

 less, or at most can escape only by swimming — a refuge of 

 no avail when overtaken on land, and equally unavailing when 

 overtaken on the water by such birds of prey as the Eagle. 

 Hence it was supposed that this "eclipse" plumage was an 

 interpolated plumage, brought about by the agency of natural 



