PLUMAGE IN HEN-BIRDS. 



205 



who accompanied the late expedition to Greenland. 

 As the colour of the feathers of many birds, in win- 

 ter and summer, is still involved in much confusion, 

 so we may suppose, when the same bird is some- 

 times described as two distinct species (Tringa, 

 Cinclus and Alpina, were described as distinct spe- 

 cies, until Montagu shewed them to be the same 

 bird, in its winter and summer plumage) ; and as the 

 changes peculiar to the plumage of certain female 

 birds, seem not to have met with a sufficient share 

 of attention, I have dwelt longer upon the subject 

 than I had intended ; and now quit it with the hope, 

 that some other person will more satisfactorily prose- 

 cute the investigation, by making an addition of 

 other facts and observations to those which I have 

 been enabled to collect. 



Age of Domestic Fowls. 



Some inferences may perhaps be drawn from the 

 foregoing remarks as to the age of fowls. Natural his- 

 torians seem tohave greatly overlooked this point. Al- 

 drovandus, however, supposed, that the domestic fowl 

 seldom or never exceeded ten years of age. In the 

 instances given of Mrs Adams's hens, one lived to the 

 age of thirteen, and the other to fifteen years, and 

 both were killed. 



Mr Corham's hen died a natural death, in the 

 fifteenth or sixteenth year of her age. 



