BIRD ORNAMENTS AND TOURNAMENTS. 55 



us analyse the subject a little farther, and learn 

 the cause and the use of this important pro- 

 ceeding. All the male birds that develop these 

 various beautiful ornaments are excessively careful 

 to display them in their courtship, and strive to 

 attract and fascinate the duller-plumaged females 

 by the sedulous exhibition of their charms. Of 

 all the lower animals, Birds approach most closely 

 to man in their aesthetic tastes and their love for 

 the beautiful. They show off their charms and 

 parade their graces with as much care as a Hyde 

 Park dandy, and for a precisely similar purpose 

 the conquest of the gentle sex. We have only to 

 watch the pairing antics of birds to be thoroughly 

 convinced of this. By spreading their wings and 

 tail, and puffing out their gaudy plumage, and 

 parading to and fro, the Pheasants and the Grouse 

 seek to win their fastidious mates ; the Herons 

 and the Egrets erect their crests and plumes and 

 gorgets, and show them off to best advantage ; 

 the Ducks and other water-birds swim round and 

 round the females w r ith bobbing heads, displaying 

 their wedding finery ; whilst the Ruff erects his 

 mottled collar, and, with every feather bristling, 

 struts about the pairing place, exhibiting his 

 charms. The smaller birds are equally careful to 

 appear to best advantage. The Chaffinch and the 

 Linnet distend their rosy breasts and expand their 

 wings, showing out the white spots on the coverts 

 and the pale margins of the quills. The House 

 Sparrow, with wings trailing on the ground and 



