218 OUR RARER BIRDS 



wood Forest a district where the Woodcock is extremely 

 common would always persist in calling these birds 

 " Wooden-Cocks." Poor " Jim's " ashes are mouldering in the 

 dust, yet his " Mark, my Lord a Wooden-Cock " is still a 

 standing joke at many a convivial gathering. 



Formerly the Ruff (Machetes pugnax) was a fairly common 

 bird during the breeding season in all .the marshy districts 

 of England suited to its requirements ; drainage and modern 

 improvements have driven it from its ancient homes, and now 

 only a scattered pair or so remain behind to breed on the 

 Norfolk broads. The Ruff arrives late in spring, and is best 

 known as a bird on migration along the British coasts. The 

 Ruff is specially interesting to the naturalist owing to its 

 polygamous habits, and the great diversity and eccentricity 

 of its plumage. For a month after the arrival of this species 

 at its breeding grounds, incessant combats are being fought 

 between pugnacious males for the possession of the females 

 regular meeting-places or " hills " being used for these singular 

 tournaments. As soon as the Ruff's numerous females have 

 laid their eggs he takes no further interest in his mates, and, 

 like the cock Pheasant, leaves them to bring up their broods 

 alone. The nest is a slight one, made of bits of withered 

 herbage, in a dry spot amongst the wet marsh ; and the eggs, 

 four in number, are greenish -gray in colour, spotted and 

 blotched with reddish-brown and gray. The food of the Ruff 

 consists of worms, insects, and mollusks, which the bird pre- 

 fers to seek in the marshes rather than on the coast. 



