EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS. — THE WINGS. 
113 
rneet a reentrant angle in the general contour of the posterior border of the wing ; the feather 
that occupies this notch is the one we are after, and unluckily it is sometimes last primary, 
•sometimes first secondary. But observe that primaries are so to speak, self- asserting, emphatic, 
italicized, remiges, stiff, strong, and obstinate ; while secondaries are retiring, whispering, in 
brevier, limber, weak, and yielding. Their different character is almost always shown by 
something in their shape or texture which the student will soon learn to recognize, though it 
cannot well be described. Let him examine fig. 30, where h marks the nine primaries of a 
sparrow's wing, and s indicates the secondaries; he will see a difference at once. The 
primaries express themselves, though with diminishing emphasis, to the last one ; then the 
secondaries begin to tell a different tale. Among North American birds the only ones with 
NINE primaries are the families Motacillidce, Vireonidce, Coerebidce, Sylvicolidce, Hirimdinidcc, 
TanagridcB, Fringillidce, Icteridcs, part of Vireonidice, and the genus Ampelis. The condition 
of the first primary, whether spurious or not, is often of great help in this determination. 
The first primary is called ''spurious" when it is very short — say one third, or less, as long 
as the second, or longest, primary. Among Passeres, a spurious first primary only occurs in 
certain ten-primaried Oscines : whence it is evident, that to find such short first primary is 
equivalent to determining the presence of ten primaries, though not to find it does not prove 
there are only nine ; the count should be made in all cases in which the outer primary is more 
than one-third as long as the next. The difference between nine primaries, and ten with the 
first spurious, is excellently illustrated among the species of Vireo. Any thrush, nuthatch, 
titmouse, or creeper shows a spurious primary to advantage, — large enough not to be over- 
looked, small enough not to be mistaken. 
The Secondaries (Fig. 30, s) are those remiges which are seated on the fore-arm (fig. 
'27, B to 0). They vary in number from six to forty or more. They have the peculiarity of 
being attached to one of the bones of the fore-arm, the 
ulna. If an ulna be examined closely, there will be 
•seen a row of little points showing the attachment ; 
such are indicated in fig. 27, along ul, and in fig. 31. 
- . o 7 o 7 , „ Fig. 31. — Ulna of Colaptes mexicamis, 
The secondaries present no pomts necessary to dwell showing points of attachment of the second- 
upon here, after what has been said of the primaries, ^ries. (Dr. R. w. Shufeidt, u. s. A.) 
"They are enormously developed in the Argus pheasant, and have curious shapes in some other 
-exotic birds. They are often long enough to cover the primaries completely when the wing is 
■closed, as in grebes ; on the other hand, they are extremely short in the swifts and humming- 
Mrds. 
The Tertiaries (Fig. 30, t) are properly the remiges which grow upon the upper arm, 
liumerus. But such feathers are not very evident in most birds, and the two or three inner- 
most secondaries, growing upon the very elbow, and commonly different from the rest in form 
or color, pass under the name of '' tertiaries." Again, in some cases, scapular feathers 
(fig. 30, scp,) are called tertiaries, especially when long or otherwise conspicuous. But 
there is an evident and proper distinction. Scapulars belong to the pteryla humeralis (see 
p. 87) ; while tertiaries, whether seated on the elbow or higher up the arm, are the innermost 
Temiges of the pteryla alaris. These inner remiges are often shortly called tertials ; though 
the longer name is more correct, besides being conformable with the names of the other tw(^ 
•series of remiges. Tertiaries often afford good characters for description, in peculiarities of 
their size, shape, or color. Thus it is very common among FringillidfS for these feathers to be 
parti-colored differently from the other remiges. In many birds they are long and ''flowing"; 
as in the families Motaeillidce and Alaudidce, where they reach about to the end of the 
primaries when the wing is closed. Their development is similar in many Scolopacidce. In 
8 
