Breeding plumage

“ Adult (♀ breeding plumage? 30,375, Rigolet, Labrador; Mr. Conolly) . Ground-color of the plumage uniform, very deep, clear, dark plumbeous-brown, continuously uniform above; larger scapulars, secondaries, secondary coverts, and primaries more dilute along edges, however, the tint palest and broadest terminally. Tail perfectly uniform, except at the end; the tip being narrowly whitish, and about half an inch anterior to this, a transverse series of hidden irregular transverse creamy-white spots. The head (except beneath) is unvariegated. ”

“ Indeed, birds without the white on the breast and with very little on [Pg 32] the wing are valuable breeders since there is a tendency for too much white to occur in the plumage. Occasionally all black birds occur and these can be used to advantage in breeding when there is a tendency toward too much white in plumage. Plumage more than half white is a disqualification. ”

“ During this time the bird appears in a somewhat depressed condition, the hen almost always ceases laying. Birds also molt in the spring, to a limited extent. The male at this time takes on the so-called breeding plumage, which is the most beautiful of the year. ”

“ But with many birds there can hardly be a doubt that the summer plumage is ornamental, even when both sexes are alike. We may conclude that this is the case with many herons, egrets, &c., for they acquire their beautiful plumes only during the breeding-season. Moreover, such plumes, top-knots, &c., though possessed by both sexes, are occasionally a little more highly developed in the male than in the female; and they resemble the plumes and ornaments possessed by the males alone of other birds. ”

“ Doubtless the existing Notification of the Government of India, prohibiting the export of plumage, has the effect of checking, to some extent, the destruction of egrets, but there is no denying the fact that many of the larger species are still shot for their plumes while breeding. ”

“ I went to several breeding haunts, but had to leave before I had procured eggs, and when I returned was too late for downy young. I got adult males and females and fledged young, but with the heads still covered with down. The young in first plumage have not been properly described. Those which reach our shores in the autumn, with the pale margins to the feathers, and which Seebohm describes as first plumage, are practically the third stage, and acquired by moult. ”

“ It is the killing of the breeding birds before the young are able to care for themselves. There is abundant evidence that the breeding time is the favorite time for hunting among plume hunters, because then the old birds are more easy to kill, and because then the plumage is the most perfect, for then the wedding garments are put on. ”

“ But when the blood is mixed—as with the Cochin Chinas, and many others—the plumage will vary widely, or slightly, according to circumstances, though many or most of the general characteristics may remain the same. The close breeding, to which many resort for the purpose of procuring uniformity, generally results in an absolute deterioration of the race in important respects. ”

“ On June 13th I observed several flocks which altogether might number one hundred and fifty birds, and in the midst of a small group, near Moyne Abbey, was a bird exhibiting the red plumage of summer, a very unusual sight in this locality, for out of the many hundreds of birds seen here in summer I have observed only two or three birds in a similar stage of plumage. The birds frequenting this western coast are apparently all immature, too young to assume the red breeding plumage. When at Bartragh on the 5th inst. ”

“ High breeding. When uniformity of plumage can be effected in mixed breeds or varieties without a resort to in-and-in, or close breeding, and without sacrificing the health and vigor of the race, it is desirable ”

“ In a few instances the male was in mottled plumage, evidently just assuming the adult phase, and in a lesser number of examples the male was in fully adult plumage—velvety black and crimson red. From the above it is clear that the males begin to breed before they attain fully adult plumage, and that they retain the dress of the female until, at least, the beginning of the second year.
“While on this trip I had many proofs that, in spite of its rich plumage, and being a bird of the tropics, it is well worthy to hold a place of honor among the song birds. ”

“ He says of the plumages of the female: “The plumages and moults correspond to those of the male. In juvenal plumage the edgings of the wings and tail are greener tinged than those of the male. In first winter plumage the green above is duller and the black of the back [333] and tail coverts is lacking; below there is more yellow and the side streaks are obscure. The first nuptial plumage is acquired by a moult limited chiefly to the head and throat which become bluer and whiter respectively. Later plumages are brighter, but green always replaces the blue of the male.” ”

“ It is remarkable that, at this season, males in full beauty of plumage 25 are as numerous as during the summer months in far more northern parts, where they breed; and you may see different gradations of plumage, from the dingy greenish-brown of the female and young to the richest tints of the oldest and handsomest male ”

“ In most of the genera, there is a nuptial change of plumage, more or less obvious, and in those of very cold countries, there is a state of plumage peculiar to the winter season. They all breed on the ground, and with few exceptions lay a great number of eggs at a time: they are terrestrial in their general habits, running with great ease and celerity ”

“ The sexes are much alike in colour, but may be readily distinguished by the more obscure plumage, and lesser size of the female. The young of the first year are of a much browner hue, a character of plumage that soon gives place to the adult livery. Of its nidification I regret to say I know nothing, although I paid great attention to the subject myself, and offered rewards for its nest and eggs, and for any information respecting them. ”

“ The juvenal plumage appears at an early age, coming in first on the back and wings; the wings grow rapidly, and the young bird can fly long before it is fully grown. This plumage is much like that of the adult, but it can be distinguished during the first summer by its looser texture and by broader brown edgings on the wing coverts, scapulars, and tertials. A prolonged postnuptial molt of the body plumage during late summer and fall produces a first winter plumage which is nearly adult. At the first prenuptial molt, in late winter and spring, young birds become indistinguishable from adults. ”

“ This molt involves the entire contour plumage, some wing coverts, and the tail; so that young birds in first nuptial plumage closely resemble adults and can be distinguished only by the presence of some old juvenal wing coverts. The sexes are quite unlike in this plumage and are probably ready to breed. Certain females, in which the black crown and white cheek patches are obscured with buff and rufous tints, but are otherwise in full plumage, are perhaps young birds. ”

“ It must also be kept in mind in using bird-keys and descriptions to determine species that the descriptions and keys refer to adult birds and in ordinary plumage. Among numerous birds the young of the year, old enough to fly and as large as the adults, still differ considerably in plumage from the latter; males differ from females, and finally both males and females may change their plumage (hence color and markings) with the season. The seasonal changes of plumage accomplished by molting may be marked or hardly noticeable. "All birds get new suits at least once a year, changing in the fall. ”

“ Adult male in molting plumage may be distinguished from the adult female by the greater brilliancy of the blue and metallic green on the wing, the plain dark upper tail-coverts, and the general darker color of the entire plumage ”

“ It is like looking for a needle in a haystack to try to find a meadowlark's nest, an unpretentious structure of dried grasses partly arched over and hidden in a clump of high timothy, flat upon the ground. But what havoc snakes and field-mice play with the white-speckled eggs and helpless fledglings! The care of rearing two or three broods in a season and the change of plumage to duller winter tints seem to exhaust the high spirits of the sweet whistler. ”

“ We cannot judge by any one particular phase of plumage, since there is little doubt that the colour increases in intensity and the growth of the feathers continues for some years, possibly throughout the life of many species. It is probable that it will ultimately be found that the quality of the plumage and the richness of the song develop correspondingly. There is only one logical definition of the term, i.e., the age at which an individual attains to the power of sexual reproduction. ”

“ The last pin-feather of the new winter plumage has burst its sheath, and is sleek and glistening from its thorough oiling with waterproof dressing, which the birds squeeze out with their bills from a special gland, and which they rub into every part of their plumage. The youngsters, now grown as large as their parents, have become proficient in fly-catching or berry-picking, as the case may be. ”

“ The female is entirely different in plumage and for a long time was supposed to be a distinct species; she is brownish in place of the black in the male, has no red in the plumage, and is barred with black and white on the back and wings. They nest at high altitudes in mountain ranges, either in coniferous forests or in aspens. There is no peculiarity in their nesting habits; they lay from four to seven eggs, glossy white. ”