. The bird; its form and function . in the SuperbBird of Paradise a shoulder-cape flares back, large enoughto cover almost the entire body of the bird, giving it theappearance of being clothed in two distinct sets of plu-mage! The nuptial attire of the Ruff, a species of sand-piper, is as greatly developed, except that it forms adouble cloak over the breast. This cloak or shield of feathers in the Ruff plays avital part in the life of the bird. We must first noticethe remarkable variation in the pattern of this cloak ofbattle,—for such it really is. If we could see fifty Ruffsstanding side by
. The bird; its form and function . in the SuperbBird of Paradise a shoulder-cape flares back, large enoughto cover almost the entire body of the bird, giving it theappearance of being clothed in two distinct sets of plu-mage! The nuptial attire of the Ruff, a species of sand-piper, is as greatly developed, except that it forms adouble cloak over the breast. This cloak or shield of feathers in the Ruff plays avital part in the life of the bird. We must first noticethe remarkable variation in the pattern of this cloak ofbattle,—for such it really is. If we could see fifty Ruffsstanding side by side, some would be seen to have ruffsof pure white, others of gray, black, orange, buff, or chest-nut, while the wavmg ear-plumes are also independentin colour, varying from white to purple, green, or there is a type of Ruff with barred cloaks, anotherwith spotted patterns, and so on in almost endlessvariation. This condition of affairs is wholly unlikethe uniform pattern of colouring of other wild birds. 278 The Bird. Fig 221—Lady Amherst Pheasant.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1906
