ADDITIONAL AVIARY NOTES 327 



peck at his head as it flew past. My friend 

 liad to throw up his hands to save himself 

 from being scratched by the bird. At times 

 he would extend his hand towards the bird 

 which spent its fury on the fingers of my 

 friend by pecking them with all its might. 



But to return. When the hen was intro- 

 duced into the aviary, the cock began to 

 court her favour in right earnest. His song 

 iDecame loud and insistent. Besides the usual 

 call-notes, he used to utter a very loud 

 tremolo whistle with a sharp and sudden en- 

 ding. This evidently used to excite sexual in- 

 clinations in the female ; for these calls generally 

 •excited the latter very much. At the time of 

 pairing, the male used to shoot down like an arrow 

 from a high perch with such a call, and then 

 -uttering a short, sudden whistle, he sprang 

 upon the hen. Among his coquetish displays, 

 one of the attitudes was to drop suddenly down 

 in front of the female ( if she were on the 

 ground ) with a loud whistle. Then he would 

 stretch out his head and gradually bend it 

 till the chin and bill rested on the ground 

 while the hinder parts went up, the tail being 

 held straight uplifted. The hen would remain 

 still all the while. 



