98 THE STORY OF BIRD-LIFE. 



practised by the kalij pheasant. Captain J. H. 

 Baldwin thus describes it : *' We had been sitting 

 motionless for, I suppose, half-an-hour, when I 

 was startled, all of a sudden, by the loud, drum- 

 ming noise . . . close at hand. The sound came 

 from behind, and on looking over my shoulder 

 my companion, with' a smile, pointed out the 

 drummer. An old cock kalij was squatting on 

 the stump of a fallen tree and, with all its feathers 

 ruffled and tail spread, was causing this extra- 

 ordinary sound by rapidly beating its wings 

 against its body." 



We will pass on now to the dances, antics and 

 display of decorative plumage, and bare patches 

 of coloured skin. Instances of this kind are 

 very numerous, but a few of the more important 

 will suffice us here. 



In the British Islands we have, or rather had, 

 one magnificent example of these "love-antics," 

 or what is generally known as "showing -off." 

 Once upon a time, say two generations ago, there 

 roamed on heaths and plains of England a large 

 bird — the largest of our British fauna — called the 

 great bustard {Otis tarda). Cultivation of waste 

 land and improved fire-arms have, between them, 

 wiped out the bird from the list of our fauna. 

 The last of the old British stock was killed in 

 Norfolk. 



"When the male wishes to attract the atten- 

 tion of the female bird," writes Dr Sharpe, "he 

 first approaches her with short steps, lifting his 

 feet from the ground and rustling his wings. 

 His next proceeding is to throw his tail flat over 

 on to his back, and to spread his shoulders out, 



