358 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 3 



that his prolonged courtship actively begins. He then takes a post 

 usually above the working females and addresses the group collec- 

 tively ; or he focuses his attention on a single bird (but not always the 

 same bird). Generally he perches on the nest branch above her and 

 repeatedly utters the courtship or " crash " call. As the season 

 advances and the period of egg deposition approaches he presses his 

 suit with greater energy, and at its maximum his demonstration is 

 thus described in my records of February 18, 1927 : 



The usual position of the male when addressing the female is above her, 

 often on the limb to which her nest is attached or, should she be inside, at its 

 entrance. From this point of vantage he leans down toward her, his blue eyes 

 glare as though they would pop from their orbits, his crest feathers are elevated 

 and expanded laterally, his wing tips are ci'ossed above his tail, and the fluffy 

 feathers of the lower back are spread out over the edges of the inner wing 

 quills. This attitude is invariably accompanied by the " crash " or courtship 

 call — indeed, is assumed for the purpose of uttering this call. In the delivery 

 of it the bird rises on his toes, as it were, nervously flits, while slightly spread- 

 ing the tail, raises the dorsal feathers, and fluffs out the body feathers chiefly 

 of the flanks. The movement of the body feathers may be caused by the 

 muscular exertion incident to the delivery of his notes, but the spreading of 

 the back feathers seems a part of the display. When not specifically directed 

 toward a female but addressed generally to a group, the bird's attitude is more 

 erect, like the normal perching position, the tail is not flitted and the iJerform- 

 ance is less tense, less excited. 



This muscular and vocal demonstration evokes no response from 

 the female who, acting as though wholly unaware of the male's 

 presence, continues without interruption her nest building and her 

 journeys to and from the forest. The male may accompany her on 

 these journeys or he may turn his attention to another female. 



It is not apparent that a male has any group relations or group 

 rights. As many as six males have been seen courting in one group 

 at the same time and they fly from group to group. At an unex- 

 pectedly early date the male pursues the female in what appears to 

 be a mating flight, though I have never seen it lead to mating. In 

 1927 this act was first observed on January 12, four days after nest 

 building began. In 1928 it occurred within the first week of building. 

 On these occasions the male with a rush and a roar of wings pursues 

 the female at full speed while she twists and turns and apparently 

 spares no effort to evade him. Usually the birds are lost to sight 

 in the forest but in every case where the flight has been watched to 

 its conclusion the female alights in a tree, the male perches near her 

 and the incident is closed. Frequently the pursuing male is joined 

 by a second and even by a third when the affair becomes a thrilling 

 exhibition of flight power not without its dramatic appeal. As the 

 nesting season advanced it was observed that each male concentrated 

 his attention on a certain female which he accompanied to and from 



