122 THE BOOK OF MIGRATORY BIRDS 



man, and throughout the bringing up of the nestlings he 

 does the homing duties to a nicety. The hen is known 

 to rest in a state of indifference, and considers herself free. 

 If they are unattached their thought is to form other ties, 

 for the erstwhile family tie counts for little. 



In the case of birds of prey, it has over and over again 

 been determined that the female is the better of the two. 

 So great is the difference, indeed, in the case of the hawk, 

 in captivity, that the lady haw has been known to kill 

 and devour her mate, though in a wild state she adheres 

 to the usual traditions of her sex in the monotonous busi- 

 ness of sitting upon her eggs and caring for the young. 



Amongst the flightless birds, the emu and cassowary, 

 the supremacy of the fair sex has gone still further. 



It is well known that the biggest, the brightest coloured, 

 and the more courageous birds of these species, are not 

 the males, but the females. The male birds realise again 

 that the home is their sphere of activities, and they con- 

 sistently look after the eggs and the chicks. The hen 

 cassowary shows an unbecoming contempt for her mate. 



In an experiment of pairing off these mated pairs at 

 the Zoo, some time ago, as related by one of the keepers, 

 the male was discovered some days after with bald patches 

 on the back, doubtless due to frequent and well-directed 

 kicks on the part of the softer sex. This fact brings us 

 to an interesting fact in animal economy ; when the male 

 is, as usual, the stronger sex, he is often found to exhibit 

 a chivalrously forbearing spirit towards his mate, as any 

 one may see in the case of the farmyard rooster. 



