Heads and Necks 



283 



verge upon the monoton}- of a mere catalogue, my plea 

 is that they have been cited with the intention of empha- 

 sizing the fact of the remarkable degree which decoration, 

 pure and simple, plays in courtship. Viewed from such 

 a standpoint, these facts and comparisons become im- 

 portant data in the observation of the courtship of birds, 



Fig. 227. — Snake-bird, showing crook in neck. 



which in its turn is one of the most important and interest- 

 ing corollaries of the psycholog}^ of these beings. Whether 

 female birds have highly developed aesthetic feelings, or 

 whether the songs and dances and colour masses act more 

 along the line of the passes of a hypnotist, is yet to be 

 ascertained. 



It is also hoped that a realization of the more immedi- 



