THE LOVE DISPLAYS OF BIRDS 235 



central support, crowned with a mass of moss, 

 and sheltering a gallery round it. One side of 

 this hut is left open, and in front of it is what 

 has been aptly termed '^the garden." It consists 

 of a bed of green moss, decorated and bedecked 

 with the most brilliantly-coloured berries and 

 flowers, and is some six or eight feet in expanse. 

 Marvellous as it may seem, the bird removes the 

 garden ornaments as they wither, and casts them 

 into a heap at the back of the premises, gather- 

 ing a fresh supply ! Through and about these 

 bowers the male birds strut and pace and race 

 after the hens that resort to them, becoming 

 excited almost to frenzy in the mad strange 

 dance and curious antic. 



It would seem that the displays of some birds, 

 like the songs of others, are indulged in for the 

 sole sake of pleasurable excitement. Science is 

 indebted to Mr. Hudson for a record of some 

 of these curious performances, of which he was 

 actually an eye-witness. Some of the Rails join in 

 these festive dances, which we can only liken to 

 balls. In South America there is a species known 

 as the Ypecaha Rail, which is in the habit of as- 

 sembling at some chosen spot, usually a small 

 patch of smooth level ground close to the water, 

 and surrounded by tall dense reeds. First one of 



