112 



VIGNETTES FROM NATURE, 



are polygamous — which of course allows of 

 only the very handsomest males in each 

 generation securing themselves a harem. 

 The decorati\'e crests and plumes are always 

 fully and ostentatiously displayed before the 

 hens during the pairing season, and in some 

 cases are produced at that time alone. But 

 as to bright colour, only a few outlying 

 southern waders, like the ibis and the 

 flamingo, living among the big waterlilies and 

 marsh-flowers of African valleys, ever have a 

 trace of it : and even these few cases cannot 

 compare in variety or richness of hue with 

 the typical fruit- eaters and flower-feeders. 



