8o A BOOK OF BIRDS 



or black centres, edged or spotted with rufous, while the face, neck, 

 and upper part of the breast are of a pale chestnut, spotted with dark 

 brown. The young birds — that is, birds in their first plumage — have 

 a livery which is more or less intermediate between the summer and 

 winter dress of the adults, in that the feathers of the upper parts are 

 black, spotted with white, and variegated with pale buff, traces of 

 which colour appear also on the sides of the neck and breast. 



In many ways, without doubt, the most remarkable of the Plover 

 tribe is the Ruff (Plate XV. fig. 2). And this because of the wonderful 

 frill of feathers which is displayed by the males during the courting- 

 season, a frill which bears a fanciful resemblance to the old Eliza- 

 bethan '* ruff," from which the bird takes its name. 



But it is not so much the existence of the ** ruff " which has 

 gained such notoriety for this bird as the coloration thereof, since 

 in no two individuals is this ever coloured alike. As if to still further 

 heighten the effect of the ornament, the head is adorned with 

 broad '' ear-like " tufts, while around the beak the feathers are shed, 

 and replaced by brightly coloured fleshy papillae. In our figure 

 (Plate XV.) the ruff is black, and the ear-tufts dark brown ; but ruffs 

 of white, buff, and chestnut also occur, and these may either be plain, 

 or banded, or spotted, or streaked with darker colours. The plumage 

 of the body at this season is no less variable ; but when autumn 

 comes, these ornaments are discarded, and the males are distin- 

 guishable from the females — which are known as Reeves — only by 

 their larger size. 



These ruffs are made to play an important part during the courting- 

 season, for at this time their wearers have a practice of meeting together 

 daily for the purpose of " sparring " one with another, and fighting 

 mimic battles. When a Ruff is in the presence of the '' Reeve " he 

 behaves very strangely, thrusting his beak down to the ground, and 

 spreading out the ruff and ear-tufts to the fullest extent. In this 

 position he|will stand, without moving, for a minute or more, as if 

 to give time to the female to study and admire him ; though, as 

 often as not, she quietly walks off, so soon as she notices that he is 

 too intent on his ceremonial bowing to notice whether she is looking 

 on or not ! 



At one time the Ruff was quite a common bird in the fenlands 



