Chap. VII. EXTERNAL DIFFERENCES. 271 



as M. Gorlron 61 remarks the three principal types of skin in man- 

 kind. The same author adds that, as different kinds of fowls living 

 in distant and isolated parts of the world have black skin and bones, 

 this colour must have appeared at various times and places. 



The shape and carriage of the body, and the shape of the head 

 differ much. The beak varies slightly in length and curvature, but 

 incomparably less than with pigeons. In most crested fowls the 

 nostrils offer a remarkable peculiarity in being raised with a cres- 

 centic outline. The primary wing-feathers are short in Cochins ; in 

 * male, which must have been more than twice as heavy as G. 

 bankiva, these feathers were in both birds of the same length. I 

 have counted, with Mr. Tegetmeier's aid, the primary wing- feathers 

 in thirteen cocks and hens of various breeds ; in four of them, 

 namely in two Hamburghs, a Cochin, and Game bantam, there were 

 10, instead of the normal number 9 ; but in counting these feathers 

 I have followed the practice of fanciers, and have iiot included the 

 first minute primary feather, barely three-quarters of an inch in 

 length. These feathers differ considerably in relative length, the 

 fourth, or the fifth, or the sixth, being the longest; with the third 

 either equal to, or considerably shorter than the fifth. In wild 

 gallinaceous species the relative length and number of the main 

 wing and tail-feathers are extremely constant. 



The tail differs much in ereotness and size, being small in Malays 

 and very small in Cochins. In thirteen fowls of various breeds 

 which I have examined, five had the normal number of 14 feathers, 

 including in this number the two middle sickle-feathers; six others 

 (viz. a Caffre cock, Gold-spangled Polish cock, Cochin hen, Sultan 

 hen, Game hen and Malay hen had 16 ; and two (an old Cochin 

 cock and Malay hen) had 17 feathers. The rumpless fowl has no tail 

 and in one which I possessed there was no oil-gland ; but this 

 bird though the os coccygis was extremely imperfect, had a vestige 

 of a tail with two rather long feathers in the position of the outer 

 caudals. This bird came from a family where, as I was told, the 

 breed had kept true for twenty years ; but rumpless fowls often 

 produce chickens with tails. 62 An eminent physiologist 63 has 

 recently spoken of this breed as a distinct species ; had he examined 

 the deformed state of the os coccyx he would never have come to 

 this conclusion ; he was probably misled by the statement, which may 

 be found in some works, that tailless fowls are wild in Ceylon ; but 

 this statement, as I have been assured by Mr. Layard and Dr. Kellaert 

 who have so closely studied the birds of Ceylon, is utterly false. 



The tarsi vary considerably in length, being relatively to the 



61 ' De l'Espece,' 1859, p. 442. A frizzled fowl sent to me from 



For the occurrence of black-boned Madras had black bones, 



fowls in South America, see Roulin, 62 Mr. Hewitt, in Tegetmeier's 



In 'Mem. de l'Acad. des Sciences,' ' Poultry Book,' 1866, p. 231. 



t m. vi. p. 351 ; and Azara, < Quad- 63 Dr. Broca, in Brown-Sequard'a 



rupedes du Paraguay,' torn. ii. p. 324-. 'Journal de Phys.,' torn. ii. p. 361. 



