132 THE WINDHOVER HAWK, 



Now, he ought to have seen the matter ex- 

 pressed. The bird was on his finger, " under 

 a strong light," and this position afforded him 

 the very best opportunity of seeing the matter, 

 which is an opaque and palpable substance, and 

 could not possibly have escaped the notice of 

 so keen an observer as Mr. Bury, had it really 

 been rubbed on the feathers, and even trans- 

 ferred, as he says, from the feathers of the 

 body to those of the head. I can assure him 

 that I have witnessed a favourite parrot press 

 its nipple scores of times, but I could never 

 detect the least moisture on the sides of its bill, 

 nor observe the smallest portion of matter on 

 the feathers which the bird was preening ; 

 hence I came to the conclusion that the parrot 

 had pressed the nipple, not to procure the 

 substance which it contained, but merely to 

 gratify itself by producing that pleasing sen- 

 sation which we ourselves experience when we 

 rub our dry hand over our face. 



Again ; in most waterfowl, the oil-gland is 

 completely covered with a very thick tuft of 

 down, not moveable at pleasure, like the true 

 feathers. This tuft would prove an insur- 

 mountable obstacle to the transfer of matter 



