. The bird, its form and function . Tails 415 the tail proper, as the elongated middle feathers of themale Pintail Duck and the Sharp-tailed Grouse. Turning to a few of the more decorative tails in theworld of birds, we find a small Australian bird, knownas the Emeu-wren, bearing aloft a half-dozen long feathers,so scantily clothed with barbs as to resemble somewhatthe 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 regardssteering
. The bird, its form and function . Tails 415 the tail proper, as the elongated middle feathers of themale Pintail Duck and the Sharp-tailed Grouse. Turning to a few of the more decorative tails in theworld of birds, we find a small Australian bird, knownas the Emeu-wren, bearing aloft a half-dozen long feathers,so scantily clothed with barbs as to resemble somewhatthe 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 regardssteering capacity; since the open-work mesh of the vanescan offer no resistance to the air. Indeed it is said ofthis bird that it is such a poor flier that it is seldom seenon the wing, but it runs rapidly and is able to leap intothe lower branches of trees. The penalty of danger fromweakened flight which the Emeu-wren must pay for hiscaudal decoration is paralleled by certain little whydah-finches of Africa, the males of which at the breedingseason are decorated w^ith several tail-feathers over five 41 6 The Bird times as long as their tiny bodies. \Vhen a heavy dewfalls during the night, drenching the plumage of thesebirds, they become helpless and quite unable to fly. Atsuch times many are killed by their natural enemies;and such indeed is their helplessness, brought about by
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