i6o A HISTORY OF BIRDS 



birds are generally the favoured ones in securing mates. Poly- 

 gamy, as might be supposed, is here the rule, but the females 

 appear to be allowed, or to insist on, a very considerable 

 amount of liberty in their choice of a mate. They may be 

 said to abandon themselves to, rather than be taken possession 

 of by, the master males of the community. 



III. Weapons and their Uses 



The males of all birds, during the period covering the time 

 of courtship and the helplessness of the young, are more or less 

 pugnacious towards other males of the same species, furious 

 battles being the result ; and these not seldom result in the 

 death of one or other of the combatants. With some species 

 this pugnacity exhausts itself in contests for the possession of 

 the females, while with others it appears to be reserved for the 

 defence of the sitting hen and young. 



The "dove of peace" at this time of the year appears in a 

 new and not always pleasing light, for not only will he fight 

 his neighbours, but he does not always show that gentleness 

 towards his wife which tradition has credited him with. The 

 tiny Humming-bird would seem to be as little capable of fight- 

 ing as a bird could be, yet few birds are more pugnacious. 

 Robins and Titmice, too, fight savagely. And certain species 

 of Quails, and a Rail {Gallicrex cristatus), nearly related to the 

 Moor-hen, are commonly kept by the natives for the sake of 

 setting them to fight one another. 



In all these cases, however, no special weapons are used, 

 the birds seizing one another by the beak, and buffeting with 

 the wings, or striking with the feet. Such as have stout beaks 

 endeavour to beat out their opponents' brains, and in this they 

 are frequently successful. 



A considerable number of species, however, notably among 

 the Game-birds, have developed powerful weapons in the shape 

 of long, pointed spurs upon the legs, some, such as Pheasants 

 and Jungle-fowl, having but a single pair, others, as in Francolins, 

 having several pairs. And these birds are notorious for the 

 ferocity of their encounters. It is said that in the Indian 

 Swamp Francolin {Francolinus gularis) nearly every individual 

 is marked by scars and wounds received in such combats. These 

 battles appear to be fought in defence of, or rather, perhaps, 



