52 BULLETIN 146^ UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



the ground. While the stations were usually occupied by the same 

 birds day after day, there were times when over 20 birds were pres- 

 ent, so it is probable that males from other " hills " call in at times. 

 While it was clear that one ruff paired with several reeves, it was 

 much more difficult to prove that the reeves paired with more than 

 one male, owing to their general similarity of appearance, though it 

 is probable that this was the case. The following extract from Selous 

 (1906) gives a good description of the characteristic sparring: 



Eacli ruff has certainly a place of its own, and tlie most envenomed fights 

 appear to me to result from one bird pitching down in another's place when he 

 flies in. The aggrieved bird instantly rushes at the intruder and there is a 

 fight which may last for a longer or shorter time. The birds have then a per- 

 fectly frantic appearance. They kick, strike with their wings, and especially 

 endeavor to bite or peck each other. This biting is very noticeable, the mandi- 

 bles seeming to snap with rage. They leap commonly before they close and then 

 continue to do so as a matter of course, the object seeming to be, as with other 

 birds, to get above the adversary and strike down upon him with wings and 

 feet and bill. Of course, when one bird is displaced by another, other's are dis- 

 placed also, leading to general commotion and, moreover, the mere anticipation 

 of any fresh arrival is matter for excitement for every ruff on the ground. 



Summarizing the results of Mr. Selous' observations, it becomes 

 evident that the " hills " are the pairing grounds to which both males 

 and females resort, but the period of the greatest activity is during 

 the early morning from about 3.30 a. m. onward. Each male has a 

 definite place and the choice of a mate rests entirely with the female, 

 the males adopting an attitude of supplication, crouching low with 

 partially spread wings, tail and beak pointing to the ground. The 

 hen marks her preference by nibbling the back of the neck of the 

 23rostrate male with her bill, and soon afterwards coition takes place, 

 the surrounding males remaining usually quiescent. One reeve was 

 seen to pair with two ruffs in succession and it is probable that she 

 is polyandrous as the ruff is certainly polygamous. There seemed to 

 be no connection between the fighting power of the males and the 

 preference exercised so strikingly by the females, but, on the other 

 hand, the favored ruffs were apparently always handsome and strik- 

 ingly colored birds. 



Nesting. — The reeve makes her nest within a reasonable distance 

 of the "hill," but not very close to it, Naumann (1887) says that 

 it is never less than a hundred paces distant, and most of those which 

 T have seen were within a quarter of a mile. In the Dutch water 

 meadows the usual nesting site is among fine, thickly growing grass, 

 where it is difficult to see unless one's eye is caught by a glimpse of 

 the nest hollow. In the marshes of Lapland, where vegetation is 

 more backward, it may be found among clumps of sedge and rushes. 

 It is built entirely of fine grasses, and would frequently be overlooked 

 if it were not for the sight of the bird when flushed. 



