193 



RUFF. 



(FEMALE CALLED REEVE.) 

 MACHETES PTTGNAX, Selby. 



The Ruff, the female of which is smaller than 

 the male, formerly bred in great numbers in the 

 fenny districts along the eastern coast of England, 

 where they were caught and fatted for the 

 table with farinaceous substances, which they 

 soon relished ; but owing to the draining of the 

 marshes and the increase of population, they are 

 now of rare occurrence in those parts, many of 

 them sojourning with us merely for a short 

 time during spring and autumn. On the east 

 coast of Scotland they make their appearance as 

 early as the middle of September, and depart in 

 a fortnight, so that only young birds and females 

 are seen there. The species is extensively distri- 

 buted on the Continent, where it breeds in the 

 marshes. The female, which forms a slight nest 

 on the ground, and lays greenish grey eggs, spotted 

 with reddish and blackish brown marks, rears her 

 young without the aid of the male. 



