28o 



The Bird 



feather shield of his opponent. But the force of the 

 blow would spend itself on the inch of space between the 

 shield and the feathers of the bird's breast. When, in 

 his native haunts, the Ruff has conquered his rival, his 

 triumphant dances before the female are most elaborate. 

 While these facts are not exactly pertinent to the physical 



Fig 224. — Breast ornament of a Wild Turkeycock. 



life of the bird, yet I mention them to show to what prac- 

 tical, as well as aesthetic, uses the development of some 

 portion of the bird's plumage may be devoted. 



What a contrast to the cloak of the Ruff is the pectoral 

 decoration of the Wild Turkeycock: a great tuft of 

 coarse, black hair-like feathers, like the tail of a horse 



