THE RUFF AND REEVE. 337 



belly and the tail coverts are white. The tail is tolerably 

 long, having the four middle feathers barred with black ; the 

 others are pale brown. The legs are of a dull yellow, and the 

 claws black. The female, which is called the reeve, is smaller 

 than the male, of a brown colour, and destitute of the ruff on 

 the neck. 



The male bird does not acquire his ruff till the second season, 

 being till that time in this respect like the female : as he is also 

 from the end of June till the pairing season, when nature clothes 

 him with the ruff, and the red pimples break out on his face ; 

 but after the time of incubation the long feathers fall off, and 

 the caruncles shrink in under the skin so as not to be discerned. 



These are birds of passage ; and arrive in the fens of Lin- 

 colnshire, the isle of Ely, and the East Riding of Yorkshire, in 

 the spring, in great numbers. Mr. Pennant tells us, that in the 

 course of a single morning there have been above six dozen 

 caught in one net : and that a fowler has been known to catch 

 between forty and fifty dozen in a season. 



The males are much more numerous than the females, and 

 they have many severe contentions for their mates. The male 

 chooses a stand on some dry bank, near a plash of water, round 

 which he runs so often as to make a bare circular path : the 

 moment a female comes in sight, all the males within a certain 

 distance commence a general battle ; placing their bills to the 

 grouud, spreading their ruff, and using the same action as a 

 cock : and this opportunity is seized by the fowlers, who, in the 

 confusion, catch them, by means of nets, in great numbers. 

 An erroneous opinion prevails very generally, that ruffs when 

 in confinement must be fed in the dark, lest the admission of 

 light should set them to fighting. The fact is, that every bird, 

 even when kept in a room, takes its stand, as it would in the 

 open air ; and if another invades its circle, a battle ensues. A 



whole room full of them may be set into fierce contest by com- 

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