Epping
Oct, 10th 1870
My dear Sir,
I received your letter1 yesterday morning, respecting the pairing of birds and regret to say that I can give you no information on the subject[.]
The greater part of our land birds assume the adult plumage the first autumn, and in most cases it would be difficult in the following spring to distinguish the birds of the previous year from the older ones.
The young male Blackbirds might be known by the brown colour of the quill feathers but it would be difficult to distinguish the young females from the old ones.
I believe the common and tree sparrows are the only resident birds that change the whole of their feathers the first month —
With best wishes in every way believe me | My dear Sir | Yours very Sincerely | Henry Doubleday
Alfred R[ussel]. Wallace Esq
Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP2260.2150)]
For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon
Please cite as “WCP2260,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2260