221 



rapid and of an undulating and darting character ; 

 yet in my aviary I have never seen them really scared ; 

 even when their arch enemy grimalkin has been about, 

 they have simpl}'' flown to the other end of the en- 

 closure. I have never heard the crowing call of the 

 male which Gould describes ; but when showing off to 

 his mate his coo may be said to be sonorous and of a 

 slightl}^ booming character. The courting attitudes of 

 the male are very effective and interesting, and cer- 

 tainly none of his beauty or attractiveness is hidden or 

 kept in the background during these movements. He 

 follows the female up and frequently goes through his 

 displa}^ this consisting of, — pausing abruptly, the 

 breast almost touching the ground, the back elevated, 

 the tail erected nearly perpendicularly and spread out 

 fanwise to such an extent that each feather is separated 

 from the other; the wings also are elevated, partially 

 outspread, and the flights separated similarly to the 

 tail. In fact this performance shews a good deal of 

 likeness to that of the Peacock, except that he remains 

 stationary while the tail and wings are in this position. 

 Though I have made the effort many times, I have so 

 far been unable to secure a photograph of the bird in 

 this attitude. 



Breeding : So far I have had no difflculty in get- 

 ting these birds to breed. They are excellent sitters 

 and feeders, the only losses among them occurring 

 through their young being killed by other birds when 

 in a mixed collection, for though fully feathered they 

 appear rather helpless during their first day out of the 

 nest, and helpless birds do not meet with much com- 

 passion from the more vigorous occupants of the 

 aviary. To give an idea of the breeding capacity of 



