ee a SERA 
SEE eT eR 
D PENNE 
Eee Ao Ue eee eme e ee qep mere MT tret GR aR aE ae S 
1894.] Ornithophilous Pollination. 681 
groove under the lower mandible, it remains to mention the 
part taken by the feathers. 
There are four ways by which the pollen becomes engaged 
or held by the feathers, which will be better understood after 
the anatomy of the latter structures are touched upon. The 
feathers from the sides of the head, lores and below, are 
mainly instrumental in this work. In general they are much 
like feathers of other birds, of the contour type, plumulaceous 
at the base, composed of à short, weak calamus, a rhachis, 
vanes, barbs and barbules; the latter being peculiar in that 
at the extremity of the vane the barbules are armed with 
sharp, thistle-like projections (barbicels) some of which are 
somewhat curved. The vanes at the base of the feathers are 
long and thread-like, near where they join the shaft are flat- 
tened oar fashion as seen in figure 8. Little pointed barbs 
divide these filimentous vanes at regular short distances. One 
of the methods of carrying pollen is here met with between 
two of the vanesasshown. The vanes of the upper part of the 
main body of the feather, are made up of narrow acute plates 
or barbs resting close together. The barbs of another vane 
-often encroach or touch the barbs of a neighboring vane, so 
that between them is found entrapped many pollen-grains as 
demonstrated in figure 7. Another way by which pollen is 
effectually engaged is between two of the barbs merely spread 
apart, giving room for the grain to be held as in figure 9. 
The fourth method observed of carrying these fertilizing 
agents is an extraneous one, depending upon the glutinous: 
secretion from the stigma of plants that adhere to the feathers, 
thus assisting the pollen to stick fast to the feather. Through 
a high magnifying power is seen the thistle-like ending of the 
vanes, the barbules frequently matted together by the sticky 
secretion referred to, gathered from the flowers while in search 
of food. Attached to the many pointed and flattened surfaces 
were seen pollen-grains of many kinds, chiefly of very minnte 
size, ready to depart or taken on anew at the next visit to a 
flower. In anemophilous flowers in which the wind is the 
agency for carrying the pollen, the grains are usually small, 
light, more or less dry and spherical, while in ME 
