330 
(No. 9G), reacliiuy 9 in.; the sliortest, a female, 7^ in. But 
though the females Avere generally the smallest, still, in some 
cases they came fully up to the average. Macgillivray, hoAvever, 
gives 9 in. as the usual length of the male, of the female 
“someAvhat less.” 
The Avax-like tips, Avhich are a prolongation of the shaft beyond 
the Avebs of the secondary feathers in each Aving, A'’ary as much in 
size as in number in both males and females, and therefore afford 
no certain evidence of sex; excepting, as before stated, that no 
males Avere found to have less than four. 
A reference to the list Avill shoAV that, in many iirstauces, the 
number of tips on the Avings is uneven, and in my summary, 
therefore, I have reckoned the higliest number in each individual 
case, as I think I may say that, in all I examined Avith uneA'^en 
numbers I could trace evidences of abrasion — injury by shot or 
other causes — to account for the absence of one or more tips, and 
in a normal state, it seems reasonable to suppose that they should 
correspond in each Aving. The odd numbers Avould then become 
even again after the next moult. But here arises the question 
Avhether the highest numbers are the result of age, more and more 
being acquired year by year, or due rather to constitutional vigour 
in certain specimens? The list undoubtedly shoAvs that though 
the lowest numbers Avore ahvays the smallest tips yet the reverse of 
this Avas by no means the ride. Some specimens Avith only six tips 
to each Aving had the majority of them quite as fine as in any 
examples having seven and eight ; and, in one or tAvo cases, birds 
Avith seven tips to each wing made but a poor shoAV. This applies 
equally to males and females, the tips of the latter, in one or two 
instances, being as fine as in any of the former. As a rule, the 
middle tips are the longest and broadest, some of the outer ones 
being barely perceptible, a mere colouring of the extreme point of 
the shaft, and scarcely shoAving beyond the AA'eb. 
These horny prolongations can hardly be termed flat, at least in 
their fully developed state, as, Avhen looked at from the underside, 
they Avill be found more or less curved, resembling somewhat the 
nail of the human hand. The longest examined by Mr. Gunn and 
myself measured three-eighths of an inch in length, and onc-oighth 
in Avidth. Tlie upper sur&co is glazed like scarlet scaling-Avax, the 
