OVER THE BROADS AND SWAMPS. 191 



of the habits of the Ruff are extremely interesting ; 

 for instance, that of fighting for the females in 

 spring and assembling at certain recognised spots, 

 where the males engage in their strange tourna- 

 ments, and display their plumes and collars to the 

 admiring females, known as " Reeves." The Ruff 

 is polygamous, a most exceptional fact in the class 

 of birds to which this species belongs (Waders). It 

 arrives at its breeding-grounds on the Broads about 

 the middle of April, and for the ensuing month 

 these combats for the Reeves are constantly taking 

 place. The males are now in splendid plumage, 

 the singular ruff of feathers round the neck being 

 at the limit of its beauty. This collar is almost 

 as remarkable for its eccentricity as for the variety 

 of its colours ; and the stiff feathers of which it is 

 composed doubtless serve as a shield in the fray, 

 as does also the hard warty skin of the face. Both 

 serve admirably to protect the bird from the thrusts 

 of its antagonist. Ruffs congregate at the "hills," 

 as they are termed, daily, until the mating season 

 has passed ; the strongest and most vigorous birds 

 appropriating .the greatest number of Reeves. The 

 males take no interest in the nest or the young ; 

 upon the Reeves all family duties fall. She 

 selects some dry spot in the marshes and makes a 

 slight nest of bits of withered herbage. Here 

 she lays her four eggs, greenish gray in ground 

 colour, spotted and blotched with reddish brown 

 and gray. Ruffs prefer the marshes to the coast, 

 and their food is composed of insects, worms, and 

 mollusks. The Ruff becomes gregarious in winter. 

 The BLACK-TAILED GODWIT (Limosa melanura) 

 formerly used to breed in this district, but is now 

 completely exterminated, although it is occasion- 



