COURTSHIP. 115 



short time the feathers clothing the face of the 

 male are shed, and their place is taken by 

 papillce or small caruncles of bright yellow or 

 pale pink. From each side of his head sprouts 

 a tuft of stiff curled feathers (see frontispiece), 

 giving the appearance of long ears ; while the 

 feathers of the throat change colour^ and beneath 

 and around it sprouts the frill or ruff already 

 mentioned. The feathers which form this re- 

 markable adornment, almost unique among birds, 

 are like those of the 'ear tufts,' stiff and in- 

 curved at the end, but much longer — measuring 

 more than two inches. They are closely arrayed, 

 capable of depression or elevation, and form a 

 shield to the front of the breast impenetrable 

 by the bill of a rival. More extraordinary than 

 this, from one point of view, is the great variety 

 of colouration that obtains in these temporary 

 outgrowths. It has often been said that no one 

 ever saw two ruffs alike. That is perhaps an 

 overstatement ; but considering the really few 

 colours that the birds exhibit, the variation is 

 something marvellous, so that fifty examples or 

 more may be compared without finding a very 

 close resemblance between any two of them, while 

 the individual variation is increased by the 'ear- 

 tufts,' which generally differ in colour from the 

 frill, and thus produce a combination of diversity. 

 The colours range from deep black to pure white, 

 passing through chestnut or bay, and many tints 

 of brown or ash-grey, while the feathers are 

 more or less closely barred with some darker 

 shade, and the back is very frequently glossed 

 with violet, blue or green — or, in addition, 



