? Last Updated on March 17, 2020
Molt is the process of feather replacement. All birds do it; they have to grow new feathers once or twice a year to stay warm, dry, and airborne, and in many cases they grow differently colored feathers at different seasons to match their surroundings or to impress others of their species.

Among the small songbirds, virtually all species have a complete molt (replacing all of their feathers) in late summer, and in addition many species have a partial molt (replacing some of the body feathers but not the wing or tail feathers) in the spring.

American Goldfinch follows this pattern. Beginning in September, and continuing for six to eight weeks, they molt all of their feathers, ending up with a completely new and pristine set of feathers (and drab colors) as they head into the winter. In the spring, as they grow new body feathers the males especially transform into bright yellow breeding plumage, but the wing and tail feathers remain from the previous fall. As these wing feathers get older the pale buff edges fade to white and disintegrate, so that by the end of the summer the wings look essentially all black. And in September another complete molt begins.

A 1,000-bed Navy hospital ship, the Comfort, docked in Manhattan. Federal guidelines warning against travel and gatherings were extended through April. In Washington, talk turned to expanding paid sick leave.

RIGHT NOW: About three out of four Americans are or will soon be under instructions to stay at home. In New York, the governor said that 1,218 people had died, and that 9,517 people in the state were hospitalized with the virus.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/world/coronavirus-news.html

Cuomo gave a grim update Tuesday, saying the peak number of coronavirus cases could be two weeks away the peak is higher than expected.

NEW YORK, NY — The peak number of cases of the new coronavirus is expected to be higher than initially thought and could be just two weeks away — far earlier than initially predicted, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in a grim update Tuesday. Cuomo said as many as 140,000 hospital beds will be needed, he said, noting the rate of spread is doubling every three days. The state currently has closer to 50,000 hospital beds.

"I will turn this state upside down to get the number of beds we need," he said.


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