THE FASTING PERIOD 



attitude, rocking their necks from side to side as 

 they faced one another (Fig. 26), and after this a 

 perfect understanding would seem to grow up 

 between them, and the solemn compact was made. 



It is difficult to convey in words the daintiness 

 of this pretty little scene. I saw it enacted many 

 dozens of times, and it was wonderful to watch one 

 of these hardy little cocks pacifying a fractious hen 

 by the perfect grace of his manners. 



Fig. 21 is particularly instructive. In the centre 

 of the picture a group of cocks are quarrelling, and 

 on the left-hand side three unmated hens can 

 be seen sitting in their scoops, whilst two of them 

 (the two in front) are receiving overtures from two 

 of the cocks who are making the most of their time 

 whilst the others are fighting. On the right-hand 

 side another cock is seen proposing himself to a 

 fourth hen who seems to be meeting his overtures 

 with the usual show of reluctance. 



Although for the later arrivals a good deal 

 of fighting was necessary before a mate could 

 be secured, it seemed that some got the matter 

 fixed up without any difficulty at all, especially 

 during the earlier days when only a few birds were 

 scattered widely over the rookery. Later, the 

 cocks seemed to watch one another jealously, and 



43 



