sgoo.] Px\TTEN. — The Natural History of the Ruff. 199 



under those of the average given. It only weighed 2^ ounces. 

 It was in poor condition, being probably somewhat exhausted 

 after its migratory flight. 



The female Ruff, shot by Mr. Williams i^Irish Nat., vol. viii., 

 p. 225), was exceptionally large and weighed 5^ ounces, being 

 only half an ounce lighter than the male shot the same day. 

 There is an important point to be noticed in connection with 

 this observation. For, as a rule, when a pair of immature 

 Ruffs are shot early in the seaso7i as these were, and they differ 

 onl}^ slightly in size, it is the male that is smaller than the average, 

 and not the female larger. This points to the fact that the males 

 grow more slowly than the females, as is the case with many 

 other animals. 



Sir R. Payne Gallwey' has seen male Ruffs which only 

 weighed 5 ounces, and according to Mr. YarrelP and Mr. 

 Saunders^ a fatted Ruff will weigh as much as 10 ounces. 



Variations in the nuptial plumage of the male: — The assump- 

 tion of the nuptial " frill " of the male is in itself a most 

 remarkable phenomenon, occurring as it does in a single genus 

 of the large family of Scolopacidae. But the variation in this 

 plumage is stranger still, and constitutes a theme, the explana- 

 tions of which might baffle some of our most brilliant orni- 

 thologists. It is a well known fact to ornithologists* that for 

 a short season of the year, during the months of May and June, 

 the neck feathers are greatl}^ changed. They undergo special 

 development, and becoming elongated and much curved the)^ 

 form a '* frill " or " rufl"" from which the bird receives its name. 

 Now most observers point out that " scarcely any two males 

 have the ' ruff' alike ;" and whilst laying emphasis on this 

 point they omit to mention that most of the rest of the 

 plumage varies at the same time. In other words, it is not 

 only the neck feathers of one bird which difter from those 

 of another, but also the greater part of the rest of the 



^ " Letters to Young vShooLers," 3rd series, p. 439. 



= " British Birds," 4th Edit., vol. iii., p. 453, 1884. 



3 " Manual of British Birds," p. 600, 1899. 



" The Right Hon. Lord Lifford, F.L.S., kept Ruflfs in his aviary, and 



states that by March 15 "they are beginning to resume their shows" 



(^Zoologist, 1896, p. 51). 



A 4 



