. The bird, its form and function. Birds. Tails 415 the tail proper, as the elongated middle feathers of the male Pintail Duck and the Sharp-tailed Grouse. Turning to a few of the more decorative tails in the world of birds, we find a small Australian bird, known as the Emeu-wren, bearing aloft a half-dozen long feathers, so scantily clothed with barbs as to resemble somewhat the plumage of the Emeu itself. These skeleton plumes, for they are little else, while giving a striking appearance. Fig. 330.—Tail of Emeu-wren. (Cf. with Fig, 23.) to the owner, must radically weaken its flight, as rega
. The bird, its form and function. Birds. Tails 415 the tail proper, as the elongated middle feathers of the male Pintail Duck and the Sharp-tailed Grouse. Turning to a few of the more decorative tails in the world of birds, we find a small Australian bird, known as the Emeu-wren, bearing aloft a half-dozen long feathers, so scantily clothed with barbs as to resemble somewhat the plumage of the Emeu itself. These skeleton plumes, for they are little else, while giving a striking appearance. Fig. 330.—Tail of Emeu-wren. (Cf. with Fig, 23.) to the owner, must radically weaken its flight, as regards steering capacity; since the open-work mesh of the vanes can offer no resistance to the air. Indeed it is said of this bird that it is such a poor flier that it is seldom seen on the wing, but it runs rapidly and is able to leap into the lower branches of trees. The penalty of danger from weakened flight which the Emeu-wren must pay for his caudal decoration is paralleled bjr certain little whydah- finches of Africa, the males of which at the breeding season are decorated with several tail-feathers over five. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Beebe, William, 1877-1962. New York, Holt
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1906
