RUFF. 653 



The Ruff, in his breeding plumage, from which the en- 

 graved figure was taken, has the beak one inch and a half 

 in length, and brown ; the irides dusky brown ; the head, 

 the whole of the ruff, or tippet, and the shoulders, of a 

 shining purple black, transversely barred with chestnut ; 

 scapulars, back, lesser wing-coverts, and some of the ter- 

 tials, pale chestnut, speckled and tipped with black ; greater 

 wing-coverts nearly uniform ash-brown ; quill-feathers 

 brownish black, with white shafts; rump, and upper tail- 

 coverts, white ; tail-feathers ash-brown, varied with chest- 

 nut and black ; the feathers of the breast, below the ruff, 

 and on the sides, chestnut, tipped with black ; belly, vent, 

 and under tail -coverts white, with an occasional spot of dark 

 brown ; legs and toes, pale yellow brown ; claws, black. 



Whole length of the male about twelve inches and a half. 

 Wing, from the carpal joint to the end of the first quill-fea- 

 ther, which is the longest, six inches and a half. The 

 weight of a Ruff about six ounces, but a Ruff, when fatted, 

 will weigh ten ounces. 



Montagu says " the long feathers on the neck and sides 

 of the head, in the male, that constitute the ruff and 

 auricles, are of short duration, for they are scarcely com- 

 pleted in the month of May, and begin to fall the latter 

 end of June. The change of these singular parts is ac- 

 companied by a complete change of plumage ; the stronger 

 colours, such as purple, chestnut, and some others, vanish 

 at the same time, so that in their winter dress they become 

 more generally alike from being less varied in their plum- 

 age ; but we observed that those who had the ruff more or 

 less white, retained that colour about the neck after the 

 autumnal moulting was effected. We noticed that in con- 

 finement their annual changes jiever varied ; every spring 

 produced the same coloured ruff and other feathers, but the 



