﻿EXTERNAL ANATOMY. EGRETS. 35 



very few examples : they differ from both of the fore- 

 goings by consisting of long feathers perfectly naked 

 except at their tips, where the webs assume the shape of 

 a lance's head, or the thick extremity of a club or 

 hatchet. This imposing ornament seems to be con- 

 fined entirely to the gallinaceous order, and is familiarly 

 exemplified in the common peacock : no less beautiful 

 is the splendid crest of the Lophophorus refulgens, {fig. 

 14.) glittering like mimic spears of refulgent gold. There 



is a modification of this crest in some of the small quails, 

 where the shafts are not altogether destitute of rays, and 

 are recurved towards the head. 



(44.) The last modification of those crests which are 

 moveable, is seen in the owls and a few other birds ; 

 where, in fact, the crest, from being divided into two 

 tufts, may be called double; and as these tufts are 

 placed one on each side, close to the ears (fig. 15.), 



at rest, these egrets are more or less erect, as if to assist 

 the ear in catching the slightest noise. In their shape, 

 no less than in their position, the egrets of the owls are 



they are usually termed 

 egrets. It is highly pro- 

 bable that they are given 

 to the owls for some spe- 

 cific purpose connected 

 with a very refined sense 

 of hearing, more than for a 

 mere ornament, because the 

 females possess these egrets 

 no less than the males ; and 

 even when these birds are 



