Bird lore - Project Puffin

192 Bird -Lore
Plumage Molt Time
1. Natal Down Postnatal Molt Spring-Summer
2. Juvenal (nestling) Postjuvenal Molt Fall
3. First Winter Plumage First Prenuptial Molt Spring
4. Nuptial Plumage First Postnuptial Molt .... Fall
5. Second Winter Plumage .
. . Second
Prenuptial Molt .
. . Spring
6. The sequence of plumages and molts follows by seasons in like order.
Note.—A few exceptions occur. The nestling plumage may be shed earlier in some
species than in others. Most nestlings shed it very soon after leaving the nest. A few
species wear it two or three months before changing to the first winter plumage, while
a few others wear it until the prenuptial molt. Likewise, a few species do not attain
the full nuptial plumage until the first postnuptial molt. The Scarlet Tanager and the
American Goldfinch are familiar examples.
Again, nearly all birds make a complete change of feathers every fall, but Ducks and
Ptarmigan, for special reasons of protection, undergo a more limited change at that
time. If a Ptarmigan, for example, assumed its white winter plumage before the snow
came, it would be a very striking object indeed. In the fall, therefore, it wears a tran-
sition plumage through September and October.
Just as in every other part of bird-study there is so much to learn that one is
likely to become confused or discouraged, so in this matter of plumage and molt
there are many unexpected points to observe and consider. For our purpose,
however, it is sufficient to remember first, that there are two general groups of
nestlings, those which are nearly naked at birth and require a long period of
care in the nest before being able to fly and find food, and those which are well
covered with natal down when hatched and require little attention from the
parents; second, that every bird changes its plumage completely once a year
at least; third, that some birds change their plumage twice a year completely,
while others make only a partial change or no change at all, except what comes
about by the wear and fading of their feathers ; and fourth, that a few birds for
special reasons of protection or ornamentation make additional changes at cer-
tain times of the year. It will lend enjoyment to your study of birds if you pay
attention to the details of their dress from season to season. The more study
one puts upon these matters, the more profit one gets. You may be able to
recognize an adult male Goldfinch, but can you tell it in the winter, or can
you tell a young male Orchard Oriole from an adult one or a young male Red-
winged Blackbird from either the adult male or female? If you have colored
pictures or charts in the school-room, or a museum close at hand, select a few
groups of familiar birds and study their likenesses and differences with respect
to plumage. Look at a young Robin or a young Bluebird in the juvenal plumage
and then look at their parents, and also, at their relatives, the Thrushes.
If it was not for the plumage of the young birds, you might not understand
their relationship.
A few suggestions about the annual life-cycle of birds may help you to
remember some of these difl&cult things. Let us take a pair of Robins, about