i64 THE COURTSHIP OF ANIMALS 



Among the Reptiles, as among the birds and beasts, 

 the desire to obtain territory seems to be strong. But the 

 information to be gathered as to their behaviour in the 

 search for mates, and after, is exceedingly small. 



Sluggish by nature, all become animated under the 

 stimulus of mate-hunger, and this is especially true of 

 the males. As one would have expected, from what 

 has just been said, desire is most demonstrative in brightly 

 coloured and highly ornamented species. But even the 

 dullest hued and most phlegmatic display quite surprising 

 agility and animation under the fever of Love. Thus 

 among the Crocodiles fierce battles are fought by rival 

 males for the possession of some coveted female : and 

 later the victor strives to dispel the apathy of his mate 

 by caperings most undignified in a Crocodile. He will 

 twist and turn, or rather twirl, round on the surface 

 of his chosen pool, with head and tail raised high in air, 

 and his capacious barrel of a body swollen out to bursting 

 point. These antics are performed to the accompaniment 

 of loud bellowings and roars heard at no other season 

 of the year. But more than this, an appeal is made to 

 the nose as well as to the eyes of his apathetic mate, for 

 during all this parade of love he exudes from glands in 

 the lower jaw, and tail, an almost overpowering smell 

 of musk. At last, however, these antics have their reward, 

 for sooner or later apathy awakens into interest, and 

 interest ends in desire. 



The Crocodile is colourless, or at least is mono- 

 chromatic ; not so many of the Lizards, which rival the 

 birds in the vividness of their hues. With the birds the 

 colours undergo no changes save such as are due to the 

 incidence of light ; with the Lizards, however, the bare 

 skin is exposed and this can, as it were, be made to blush 



