1903. Moffat. — The Spring Rivalry of Birds. 165 



afforded us for suspecting that the bright plumage may have 

 been originally evolved as " war paint ? " In other words, as 

 a sort of " warning colouration " to rival males, rather than 

 attractive colouration to dazzle the females ? I cannot, of 

 course, go into elaborate argument on this question, but I 

 wish to observe that I never, to my recollection, saw a con- 

 flict between two brightl3'-plumaged birds, in which the bright 

 feathers were not brought into prominence in some striking 

 manner during the fray. The Robin so faces his opponent as 

 to make the fullest display of his red front; the cock Golden- 

 crested Wren lowers its head like a bull, and flashes its crest 

 right in the enemy's face. The distinguished points in the 

 Water-hen's nuptial dress are not so much in the plumage of 

 this bird as in its bright orange bill, and the bright scarlet- 

 orange band round its leg, which is often called its garter; 

 and it is significant that when two Water-hens fight in the 

 breeding season they sit back on their hind quarters and 

 strike at one another with the ir feet. The male of the Night- 

 jar is distinguished by the white patches on his wings and 

 tail, which only show when these are extended ; and two 

 birds of this species whom I once watched fighting used to lie 

 on the ground, menacing one another with deep frog-like 

 noises, and then to rise with vehement beating of wings, 

 which showed to perfection — even in the ditn light — the white 

 ornamentation of their plumage. I need hardly mention the 

 notorious case of the Ruff", whose decoration is really useful as 

 a shield in his very celebrated battles. These are just a few 

 illustrations of what seems to me to constitute a general rule, 

 and they serve to show that bright colours have another 

 object than to please the hen bird's eye. When we pass in 

 spring over a gorsy Irish moor, and see those splendid little 

 birds, the cock Stonechats, perched conspicuousl}^ on the tops 

 of the furze bushes, does not each of them remind us of a 

 bright little flag, put up — as it were — to mark that such and 

 such an area is under such and such a dominion? If the 

 cock bird shared the dull plumage of the hen, the signal 

 would be less useful in two respects; it would not be seen so 

 far, to begin with, nor would it show — when it was seen — 

 that the bird belonged to the fighting sex, and was of full age 

 to maintain his right. Without, then, wishing to push 



