172 Bird -Lore 



will get the full benefit of the climax of his effort. At the same time, his short 

 notes that have kept time with the shaking of his head grow into one loud 

 prolonged hiss. The accompanying photograph shows a captive bird at about 

 the middle of the display period. This strutting of the Ruffed Grouse is quite 

 apart from the drumming which was so well described by H. E. Tuttle 

 in Bird-Lore for May- June, 1920. The drumming takes the place of song, 

 and is the announcement to the females and other males that the cock is 

 ready to defend his territory. The strutting is the display, ordinarily 

 intended for the benefit of the female, though often indulged in in a half- 

 hearted manner when no female is present. The tame Grouse in the photo- 

 graph, however, had no mate and used to display for almost any visitor, 

 male or female. 



Some of the most elaborate displays of nuptial plumes are those of the 

 Birds-of-Paradise which may frequently be watched at the larger Zoological 

 Parks. During the past year there has been on exhibit at the New York Zo- 

 ological Park, a Blue Bird-of-Paradise, which surprised even the most experi- 

 enced aviculturists by the unusualness of his display. For, instead of hopping 

 up and down on his perch and erecting his plumes into a beautiful cascade as 

 was expected of him, he hung upside down from his perch and shook out his 

 long flank feathers until he formed an exquisite azure lyre with a dark maroon 

 center. 



Lest it be thought that only foreign birds or birds with unusual plumes or 

 brilliant colors display in an interesting way, mention should be made of the 

 curious effort of the Cowbird, a plain little black bird with a brown head. So 

 far as colors go he has nothing to boast of, and when it comes to his abominable 

 practice of parasitizing smaller birds, the less said here the better. But, for a 





GOLDEN PHEASANT 

 The full display. All the specialized feathers used 



