206 ABOUT THE BLACKCOCK. 



of its purple blossoms. The blackcock is polygamous, and 

 in tlie breeding season desperate combats take place be- 

 tween tlie males for the favour of the weaker sex. In the 

 warm sunny days, says Sir William Jardine, at the close 

 of winter and early in the spring, the males, after feeding, 

 may be seen arranged on some turf-fence, rail, or sheep- 

 fold, pluming their wings, expanding their tails, and 

 practising their love-call. Should the genial weather con- 

 tinue, the flocks soon separate, and the males select some 

 conspicuous spot, from which they seek to drive all rivals, 

 and there they begin to display all their arts of fascina- 

 tion. The places so chosen are generally elevations ; the 

 turf-enclosure of a disused sheepfold, or some of those 

 l3eautiful fresh and grassy knowes which tradition loves to 

 associate with the nocturnal pranks of elves and fays. 

 Here, after many battles have been fought and rivals 

 defeated, the gallant full-dressed blackcock perches him- 

 self at the break of day ; and in localities where the game 

 abounds, the whole of the purple hill-side soon resounds 

 with the humming call. Tliey strut to and fro in their 

 turfy arenas, trailing their wings, inflating their throat 

 and neck, and expanding the plumage of these parts ; 

 raising and broadening their shining tails ; while the 

 females gradually gather around their lords and masters, 

 with feelings, we may suppose, of respectful admiration. 

 The time of domestic bliss, however, soon passes ; the 

 females disperse to seek suitable coverts for depositing 

 their eggs, while the males reassemble in small parties, and 

 retire to the shelter of the brushwood and the bracken in 

 order to complete a new moult ; exhibiting a timidity 



