WITHOUT a cursory knowledge, at least, of the technical terms employed by Ornithologists in their delineations of the feathered race, we cannot expect all our readers to understand or appreciate the scientific descriptions which we have inserted of the Game Birds of our country; it therefore appears to us that we cannot do better than devote the first few pages of this volume to the full elucidation of these terms, which in fact are the A B C of Ornithology, the Alpha and Omega of the branch.

This information, so important to the intelligent Sportsman, can be easily and quickly acquired by reference to the accompanying drawing, in connection with the explanations following immediately after.

1. Auriculars, the ear coverts.-The soft feathers that cover the organs of hearing.

2, 2. The bastard wing, consisting of three or five feathers, resembling the quills of the true wing; they are placed on a

small bone rising from the wrist-joint of the wing. The bastard wing assists in flight by keeping the wing from turning upwards, and contracts the points of the wing in a downward and backward position to that of the course of the Bird through the air.

3, 3. The lesser coverts of the wings.-These are the feathers which are found in successive rows upon the wings; those on the inside are termed under coverts, and are much less regarded by Ornithologists as a means of distinction than the others.

4, 4. The greater coverts.-The wing feathers lying under the lesser coverts; they are much larger and stronger than the latter.

5, 5: The primaries.-Large quill feathers taking their growth from below the wrist-joint. The length and proportion of the feathers control, in a wide degree, the movements of the Bird in the air. The nearer the longer primary quill approaches the body, the more dexterous and beautiful will be the motion of the Bird when on the wing. The Hawks, Swallows, and various other Birds of rapid flight, that seize their prey when on the wing, have the longest primary feather very near the body, and consequently are enabled to turn and twist themselves with great facility.

6, 6. The secondaries, or second quill feathers, spring from the second bone of the wing. When the wing is extended, they frequently appear like a continuation of the primaries.

7, 7. The tertiary, or third quill feathers, also arise from the second bone, but much nearer the elbow-joint.

8, 8. The scapulars, or shoulder feathers, are formed by the soft and downy feathers that cover the shoulder-bones, and are serviceable only as a protection to the parts which they surround; they unite without any regularity with the plumage of the back and wings.

9. The rump feathers and upper-tail coverts.—These feathers are the continuation of the covering of the back, and are strong in proportion to the peculiar habits of the Bird. In the Woodpecker tribe, for instance, these feathers are very strong and unusually long, as they make constant use of the tail as a support and assistance when climbing the trunks of trees; and so it is with some water-fowl not webfooted, but obliged frequently to take flight from the water. The tail feathers in these