4068 The Zoologist — July, 1874. 



(as some writers would mal^e us believe) the only incitement to this 

 exhibition of the plumage, or it follows ihat this old cock is making 

 love to the young ones. I may add, here, that I often see this 

 display of plumage even in winter amongst a group of cock birds, 

 when no females are near them : if another cock thinks himself as 

 good looking as the one displaying himself, he displays in turn, 

 and they always face opposite directions ; their heads and necks 

 are immediately brought erect, the feathers fall close to the body, 

 except the tail, which remains spread, and the upper parts still 

 shown to each other; it then assumes an attitude of defence and 

 defiance, and either ends in a fight, or more frequently one of them 

 hops to one side, and immediately raises the feathers of the head and 

 neck, which seems to indicate fear or submission ; the other either 

 resumes his display as at first, or finishes off by shaking himself 

 and crowing. I have frequently seen hen pheasants draw up to 

 each other, sometimes three or four at once, spreading their tails 

 and showing their upper parts by drooping the sides next to each 

 other, in a similar manner, and they invariably use a little 

 threatening language to each other while they are braced up. 

 The male pheasant will sometimes display himself to the female in 

 another manner: he will run uj) to her from some distance, with 

 his wings trailing and his feathers puffed out, and on coming up 

 to her circle round her with the outer wing spread, just like the 

 domestic cock. 



When I commenced to write to you I had no intention of saying 

 one word on this subject, and yet I am prompted to make use of 

 the parsons' hackneyed phrase of — " one word more." The 

 domestic cock is said to lower the wing next the hen; this is, 

 perhaps, more apparent than real ; the spreading of the wing is 

 always on the side furthest from the hen, that side of the body 

 being raised to allow the wing to be spread downwards in the 

 shape of a shell ; it is their habit also to raise the foot and draw it 

 across the wing when spread, which produces a slight rustling of 

 the feathers ; this, then, necessitates the lowering of the whole of 

 the other side of the body : let anyone raise his elbow, and then 

 try to scratch it with his foot without sinking the other elbow. 

 Now, without admitting that these displays are " purposeless," 

 after what I have seen, I will say that they are not used only as 

 '* a charm for the female, and no other purpose," because different 

 emotions seem to produce the same display. 



