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He was the king of the barnyard, and took care of them all. He had a bright red comb and beautiful, long, green tail-feathers, and Mamma Goose thought him the most wonderful being in the whole world. But something seemed to be wrong with him, too. He did not crow half so often as he used to, and his beautiful red comb did not stand stiff and straight any more.

The frequent presence of fourteen or even sixteen tail-feathers in the pouter may be considered as a variation representing the normal structure of another race, the fantail.

She walked all around the room, and looked at the wash-stand and the bureau and at Dick's tail-feathers scattered among the window-plants and then at the blue dragon's head, smashed all to bits on the floor. Then she picked up the locket, lying face downwards on the rug, and began searching for the other things that had been in the jewel-case.

An argument of great weight, and applicable in several other cases, is, that the above-specified breeds, though agreeing generally with the wild rock-pigeon in constitution, habits, voice, colouring, and in most parts of their structure, yet are certainly highly abnormal in other parts; we may look in vain through the whole great family of Columbidae for a beak like that of the English carrier, or that of the short-faced tumbler, or barb; for reversed feathers like those of the Jacobin; for a crop like that of the pouter; for tail-feathers like those of the fantail.

Speaking of Indian extravagance, we all remember the peacock throne of the king of Delhi, a throne of solid gold, six feet long and four feet broad, surmounted by a canopy of gold, and supported by twelve pillars composed of the same precious material. The back of this costly structure was made to represent a peacock with its tail-feathers expanded, hence the name.

Some semi-domestic breeds, and some truly wild breeds, have, besides the two black bars, the wings chequered with black. These several marks do not occur together in any other species of the whole family. Now, in every one of the domestic breeds, taking thoroughly well-bred birds, all the above marks, even to the white edging of the outer tail-feathers, sometimes concur perfectly developed.

But since this period the male black-grouse has acquired his fine black plumage, with his forked and outwardly-curled tail-feathers; but of these characters there has hardly been any transference to the female, excepting that she shews in her tail a trace of the curved fork.

I did not hear the whole of the conversation, for my attention was diverted by two roosters who just then flew at each other and were assailed by a troop of black urchins who tried to scare them apart, pulling their tail-feathers and uttering ludicrous cries. "You are from the North, sir, I take it," said the gentleman, in reply to your Uncle. "I am, sir," said your Uncle.

"Yes," continued the naturalist, "it is the jerfalcon; and those other birds which you call `white partridges, are the very creatures upon which it preys. So you have killed both the tyrant and his victims. And as Lucien said this, he began to handle the birds, which were of a beautiful white all over, with the exception of the tail-feathers. These last were pitch-black.

Another sun-angel, the Heliangelus Clarissae, has a deep ruby crimson gorget. In New Granada is also found the curious little snow-cap humming-bird, one of the most rare of the Trochilidae. It is of a brown colour, with a coppery hue, in which, in certain lights, a purple reflection can be perceived. The crown of the head and the tip of the tail-feathers are of a dazzling white.