480 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XLVIII 



reduction of the crown patch alone it is possible to pro- 

 duce a pigeon with a mere white spot at the back of the 

 head, one with a white stripe from the base of the beak 

 through the eyes to the back of the head (or some part 

 of such a stripe) to a pigeon in which by the total reduc- 

 tion of the patch, the entire top of the head is white. 

 Such specimens can be found in most any miscellaneous 

 flock. There is a tendency often for the patch to be irreg- 

 ularly broken, sometimes divided almost into two parts, 

 a result of the pterylosis to some extent. 



The ear patches in pigeons, and probably in all birds, 

 are rather insignificant, and the smallest of all the pri- 

 mary pigment areas. They include the feathers from 

 the posterior angle of the lower mandible to the angle of 

 mouth and thence back, including the ear coverts. I do 

 not feel sure that the patches of opposite sides may not 

 join on the chin, but the present evidence tends to show 

 that the chin is pigmented by a forward extension of the 

 neck, patch, which, under reduction, often leaves a small 

 island of pigment between the mandibular rami. In Fig. 

 50 the neck patches are seen to have broken away ante- 

 riorly from the crown and ear patches and the separa- 

 tion of the latter from the crown is indicated by deep 

 reentrants along the line of the separation. In Fig. 51 a 

 remnant of the ear patch of the left side alone remains 

 in dorsal view, consisting of a small tuft of pigmented 

 feathers at the fore end of the aural area and a single 

 pigmented feather just behind it. In this specimen there 

 are a few pigmented feathers on the chin as well, which I 

 take to be an isolated bit of the neck patches. 



The neck patches are bilateral in origin, and pigment 

 the entire throat and neck back to a point corresponding 

 to the base of the neck vertebrae. They meet the crown 

 patch and separate the ear patches at the occiput. In the 

 domestic pigeon the neck patches correspond very closely 

 to the area of differentiated feathers that give the metal- 

 lic reflections. In the reduction of this area it is common 

 for the anterior part of the throat to be white, and then a 



