5°o 



BIRD BEHAVIOUR 



xvn. 7 



approach each other over the water and go through various actions 

 such as the head-shaking ceremony (Fig. 303). Where the male is more 

 strongly coloured, provided with a special comb, &c, he often displays 

 before the female, who adopts a more passive role. A very common 

 element in the procedure of courtship is the sudden revelation of some 



Fig. 304. Display of various birds of paradise. 



1 and 4, Paradisea; 2, Diphy Modes; 3, Cicinnurus. 

 (From Streseman, after Seth Smith.) 



feature or pattern, serving as it were to arrest and awaken the female 

 and at the same time almost to reduce her to passiveness. The actual 

 movements involved are very various. An excellent example is the 

 peacock, who approaches showing his dull-coloured back and then 

 suddenly turns on his hen, revealing the pattern of spots (which we 

 have noted elsewhere to be an arresting shape), shaking his 'tail' with 

 a rustling noise and himself emitting a scream, in a way that can easily 

 be believed both arresting and fascinating. It is a common charac- 



