Edward Degen

“ It will be noticed from the foregoing figures that, as far as difference of sex is concerned, there is a marked excess of length for this longest of the flight-feathers in both the old and the young individual male birds over the females of from 7 to 14 mm. ”

“ Thus 18·5 per cent., or five males only, absolutely exceed in greatest length of flight-feathers; the 59·3 per cent.=nineteen individuals, indiscriminately represent males and females, as well as every range of length; these are Nos. 6 to 21 of Table I., or considerably over the half of this large series of birds. Of females, six only are absolutely inferior in length, forming 22·2 per cent, of the whole. By dealing, however, separately with the sexes, the five males just referred to, out of a total of sixteen, with absolutely higher indices, form 31·2 per cent. ”

“ If the relative lengths range for the adult males between 219 to 200, for the young males from 212 to 200, they do the same in the case of the females, which for the adults is one of from 205 to 190, and one of 205 to 192 in young females. ”