Our moulting season, like that of the fowls, must be a crisis in our lives.
In one of the most esteemed varieties, the wing and tail feathers are at first black - a peculiarity, however, which disappears after the first moulting.
The white ruff on the neck, and the similarly coloured feathers of the wing, do not appear until the completion of the first moulting.
But the evidence is not conclusive as to whether any part of the winter condition is additionally produced by moulting.
As these moulting periods approach, the worms lose their appetite and cease eating, and at each period of change they are left undisturbed and free from noise.