Chap. IV. IN ANIMALS. 97 



a man to death in the United States, is described as first 

 brandishing his antlers, squealing with rage and stamp- 

 ing on the ground; " at length his hair was seen to rise 

 and stand on end," and then he plunged forward to the 

 attack. 11 The hair likewise becomes erect on goats, and, 

 as I hear from Mr. Blyth, on some Indian antelopes. I 

 have seen it erected on the hairy Ant-eater; and on the 

 Agouti, one of the Rodents. A female Bat, 12 which 

 reared her young under confinement, when any one 

 looked into the cage " erected the fur on her back, and 

 bit viciously at intruding ringers." 



Birds belonging to all the chief Orders ruffle their 

 feathers when angry or frightened. Every one must 

 have seen two cocks, even quite young birds, preparing 

 to fight with erected neck-hackles; nor can these feath- 

 ers when erected serve as a means of defence, for cock- 

 fighters have found by experience that it is advantageous 

 to trim them. The male Ruff {Machetes pugnax) like- 

 wise erects its collar of feathers when fighting. When 

 a dog approaches a common hen with her chickens, she 

 spreads out her wings, raises her tail, ruffles all her feath- 

 ers, and looking as ferocious as possible, dashes at the 

 intruder. The tail is not always held in exactly the same 

 position; it is sometimes so much erected, that the cen- 

 tral feathers, as in the accompanying drawing, almost 

 touch the back. Swans, when angered, likewise raise 

 their wings and tail, and erect their feathers. They open 

 their beaks, and make by paddling little rapid starts for- 

 wards, against any one who approaches the water's edge 

 too closely. Tropic birds 13 when disturbed on their nests 



11 The Hon. J. Caton, Ottawa Acad, of Nat. Sciences, 

 May, 1868, pp. 36, 40. For the Capra Mgagrus, ' Land and 

 Water,' 1867, p. 37. 



12 ' Land and Water,' July 20, 1867, p. 659. 



13 Phaeton rubricauda: 'Ibis,' vol. iii. 1861, p. 180. 



