RUFF. 



Pavoncella pugnax. 



Char. Upper parts variable, but usually mottled black, chestnut, buff, 

 and gray ; lower back dark brown, with margin of chestnut or buff, wings 

 and tail dusky brown; neck and breast buff; belly dull white. During 

 the mating season — May and June — the male drops the feathers from 

 the sides of the face, and reddish warts appear there ; at this time, also, 

 he wears a shield-like erectile ruff, — whence the name. Length about 

 12 inches. 



Nest. On a dry knoll in a swamp in the midst of a clump of coarse 

 grass or sedges ; a slight depression lined with dead grass. 



Egg^' 4; pale olive or olive gray, spotted with reddish brown; 1.60 

 X 1.15- 



The Ruff is a distinctly European species, — it is rare on the 

 British Isles, — but so many examples have been taken on this 



