Heads and Necks 



283 



verge upon the monoton}" of a mere catalogue, my plea 

 is that they have been cited with the intention of empha- 

 sizing the fact of the remarkable degree which decoration, 

 pure and simple, plays in courtship. Viewed from such 

 a standpoint, these facts and comparisons become im- 

 portant data in the observation of the courtship of birds, 



Fig. 227. — Snake-bird, showing crook in neck. 



which in its turn is one of the most important and interest- 

 ing corollaries of the psychology of these beings. Whether 

 female birds have highly developed aesthetic feelings, or 

 whether the songs and dances and colour masses act more 

 along the line of the passes of a hypnotist, is yet to be 

 ascertained. 



It is also hoped that a realization of the more immedi- 



