COUKTSHIP OF THE EEDSHANK. 651 



yards. The cock sometimes (though not usually) flew after her, 

 settled, and began his running once more ; but then she would 

 very soon fly off again, and I never saw a cock persevere after a 

 second such repulse. The first stage may be very short, as I 

 have said, owing to her rejecting her suitor at once ; and it may 

 be short for the reverse reason, the hen stopping almost at once 

 to let the cock come up for inspection. Usually, however, it is of 

 considerable length, and in well over half the number of cases it 

 ends in the rejection of the cock and the cutting short of the 

 courtship before the second stage is reached. 



Of the minority who survived thus far, a still larger percentage 

 were rejected before getting to the third stage. This was most 

 often accomplished by the hen simply flying off, leaving her 

 suitor to fold his wings and pretend nothing had happened. 

 Sometimes, however, if more undecided, she would behave in a 

 curiously human way. As the cock got close she would as it 

 were lean away from him, and at last, giving a little quiver all 

 over, break into a short quick run of about four or five steps, 

 like a frightened horse shying across the road. Then she stood 

 still again, and, when the cock advanced again, very likely repeated 

 the action. Of the five or six hens I saw act thus, all as a matter 

 of fact at length flew ofi"; but I have no doubt that occasionally 

 they make up their minds in the opposite way. 



4. Other habits of the Pairing-Season. 



There are other habits of the pairing-season which call for 

 special remark. I do not vinderstand their relations to the court- 

 ship proper, and shall merely mention thera here. They ai-e 

 introduced partly for the sake of completeness and partly to show 

 what a number of unsolved problems still exist concerning the 

 habits of common birds. 



(a) The Love-flight. — ^This is a well-known habit. A Redshank 

 (presumably a cock) rises up into the air and there flies in a 

 series of switchbacks. I will quote from my own notes on a 

 particular bird : " Just before the bottom of each switchback he 

 gave very quick wing-flaps, almost fluttering, one would call it ; 

 this made him start up again. He went on flutteiing or flapping 

 till he was about half-way up, and for the rest of the up-stroke 

 of the switchback he soared up with the impetus he had gained. 

 His wings now were set back and down, his neck and head 

 thrown up in a beautiful proud attitude, his tail spread out. 

 Then he turned the angle of his wings and glided down, still in 

 the same attitude." While flying thus, he gives vent to what 

 one may well call a song — a sei'ies of pure sweet single notes, 

 never uttered on other occasions. The flight may be quite short, 

 or may go on and on for several minutes. It is usually, I think, 

 gone through by single birds, but I have fairly often seen it done 



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