MOULTING, or MOLTING, the falling off or change of hair, feathers, skins, horns, or other parts of animals, happening in some annually, in others only at certain stages of their life.
The generality of animals moult in the spring. The moult of a hawk is called mewing. The moult of a deer is the quitting of his horns in February or March. The moult of a serpent is the putting off his skin. See EXUVIA.