62 
OIL GLANDS OF BIRDS. 
Moreover, the nipple, in general, is crowned with a 
circle of feathers ; and in all waterfowl which I have 
examined in the duck tribe, from the swan down- 
wards, the whole of the gland itself is covered with 
a very thick downy plumage, which would totally 
prevent the bird from procuring any liquid from 
that quarter. 
1 will now show that this oily liquor would injurs 
the feathers. The feathers of birds, when in a per* 
fectly dry state, have a beautiful and downy appear- 
ance ; in a wet state, the downy appearance is lost, 
but returns when all the moisture is gone : if, how- 
ever, any greasy substance or oily liquor has come 
in contact with them, I do not know what could be 
employed to restore the downy appearance to its 
pristine beauty Let any body apply the oil from 
the gland in question to a feather, and he will pro- 
duce a fixed stain. 
Suppose, for sake of argument, that the bird does 
actually employ oil from the gland to lubricate the 
plumage, (which, by the by, I flatly deny,) how is 
the head and part of the neck to be supplied with 
oil ? Why, the truth is, they never can be supplied: 
and if you examine, with the nicest scrutiny, the 
feathers of the body which come within the range 
of the bill, and the feathers of the head, which are 
out of the range of the bill, and then compare them, 
you will not observe the smallest difference in their 
downy appearance : proof positive that the plumage 
of the body has not been lubricated with oil from 
the gland. 
In the Magazine of Natural History y vol. i. p. 119- 
