The Audubon Societies 175 



The promenades of the Cayenne Lapwing of South America, the clustering 

 and waving of wings of the flocks of Jacanas on the tropical marshes, the dances 

 of the Cranes and the Albatrosses are all examples of courtship performances, 

 or at least undoubtedly had their origin as such, though they are today often 

 indulged in at other times. Space will not permit of their description here, and, 

 after all, they are perhaps less interesting than the actions of our more familiar 

 birds. Enough has been said to indicate the sort of thing to look for and the 

 greatest pleasure and the greatest good will come from making an original 

 discovery of the courtship of some common bird. Make a point of watching 

 a pair of Flickers and try to describe their interesting courtship. Robins, Song 

 Sparrows, Grackles, Redwings, Hummingbirds, practically all of our common- 

 est species, will take on a new interest when one becomes absorbed in trying 

 to observe their complete display. Young eyes are as good as old ones, and 

 if their experience in life is less, perhaps the descriptions will be that much 

 freer from human interpretations. 



SUGGESTIONS 



1. Name the four principal ways in which the courtship of birds is performed. 



2. What is the function of birds' songs? 



3. Name ten birds that are singing when they arrive from the South in the spring. 



4. Name five birds that do not often sing while migrating. 



5. Name five birds that you have heard give flight-songs. Do these songs differ from 



their regular songs? 



6. What species of birds have you seen fighting during the courting period? 



7. Do birds seem more pugnacious to birds of their own species or to other kinds during 



the nesting season? 



8. What birds have you seen pecking at windows? Why do they do it? 



9. What birds of your acquaintance have special plumes for display during their court- 



ship? Where are the plumes located and how are they used? 



10. Where do the 'aigrettes' that formerly adorned women's hats come from? What is 



their rightful function? 



11. Describe the outstanding feature in the courtship of the following birds: Peacock, 



Golden Pheasant, Ring-necked Pheasant, Ruffed Grouse, Prairie Chicken, Cowbird, 

 Nuthatch, Flicker, Chickadee, Woodcock, Wilson's Snipe, Marsh Hawk, House 

 Sparrow. 



SUMMER BIRD STUDY 



This summer a great many teachers and others will take advantage of their 

 summer vacation to go to summer school at some one of the colleges or univer- 

 sities, that offer summer work. Bird-lovers will do well to refer to the issue 

 of Bird-Lore for May-June, 1921, where descriptions of various summer 

 courses for the study of birds given at the different summer schools are listed. 

 So far as known, the courses this summer will be the same as last, with the 

 exception that a few other colleges that are not listed will undoubtedly offer 

 some bird-work. Word has been received from T. L. Hankinson, for example, 

 that a course on 'The Birds of Michigan' will be given at the Michigan State 



