i /> THE EVOU'TIOMST AT LARGE. 



confined to glossy plumage and a few orna- 

 mental tail-feathers. The grey-hen hersrlf 

 still retains the dull and imitative colouring 

 of the grouse race genera'ly ; and as for the 

 cocks, even if a fair percentage of them is 

 annually cut off through their comparative 

 conspicuousness as marks, their loss is less 

 felt than it would be in a monogamous com- 

 munity. Ever}' spring the blackcock hold a 

 sort of assembly or court of love, at which 

 the pairing for the year takes place. The 

 cocks resort to certain open and recognised 

 spots, and there invite the grey-hens by their 

 calls, a little duelling going on meanwhile. 

 During these meetings they show off their 

 beauty with great emulation, after the fashion 

 with which we are all familiar in the case of 

 the peacock ; and when they have gained 

 the approbation of their mates and maimed 

 or driven away their rivals, they retire \\ith 

 their respective families. Unfortunately, like 

 most polygamists, they make bad fathers, 

 leaving the care of their young almost en- 



