55



as the breeding season approaches, and wears till early autumn,

when he loses it in the general moult. It consists primarily of a

growth of feathers from the sides of the face and neck, which

hang down over the neck and breast like a circular-bottomed

pendant, over which the bird has considerable muscular power

and can raise or depress, contract or expand, at will. In addition

to this, two fringes grow on the brow like large eyebrows, and

stand up at an angle after the style of a Mephistopheles : these,

too, can be raised or depressed at will. The colour of these

adornments varies as much as does the body colour of the bird :

a dark brown-bodied bird may have a white frill or ruff, while a

mottled bird may have a cream-coloured one, and so on. In the

first bird we had a year or two ago, the ej^ebrows were bright

gold like braid or thread ; this year’s bird had them of a some¬

what darker colour than the general tone of the head, and they

were not conspicuous except when raised.


But the possession of these adornments does not satisfy

our gallant : he has to show them off, and his antics in doing

this are most amusing, and drew crowds of featherless spectators

to the pool side. Not having a mate of his own, he made up to

two Knots and a Godwit, and incessantly displayed his attractions

to them. This he did by running in front of them, or flying

over and alighting just before them, and then lying flat on his

breast, putting the end of his beak vertically down to the ground,

raising his ruff all round his head, and elevating his e3^ebrows in

a somewhat fierce-looking manner. When first seen in this

position, perfedtty motionless and his head completely smothered

up, he might easily be taken for a dead bird, and he retains the

position for a considerable time—it seems a minute or more to

aiwone watching him—when he raises himself and runs or flies

again to a position in front of his friends, and squats as before,

always putting the point of his beak down to the ground and

assuming a most peculiar attitude. I have been quite unable to

conceive the object of all this manoeuvring, ( a ) for none of the

other birds, not even the reeve when she joined him, seemed to

be the least impressed by it, and yet from the pertinacity with,

which he persisted in it, he evidently expected some important

result. He never does it now he has shed his ruff.


The birds are fond of paddling about in the shallow water

among the rushes round the marge, and live well on minced raw


(a). Undoubtedly to show off his display to the female. The females of all hirds

where the male makes a marked display are apparently unconscious of the trouble the

male is taking to impress them. Note a Peahen when the cock is displaying; also the

female Great Bustard.—33. G. B. JVI.-W.



