268 Polyandry in the Rhea.


two females were walking up and down outside his enclosure,

endeavouring to get in. The booming of the male Rhea is a

weird sound. To begin with it is as loud when the bird is some

hundreds of 3*ards away, as when he is quite close by, and it

gives one the idea of some large quadruped with a bad ache in

his interior. In the early morning of a still summer's day, it

sounds strangely, and one expects to see a large bear troubled

with indigestion issuing from the wood near by.


L,et me return however to my subject of polyandry. The

new grey male was liberated in two day's time, and immediately

commenced courting his two new mates. In a very few days

both females were laying again, and (as I write) this male Rhea

is now incubating six or seven eggs, and he was left to his duties

by the two ladies. Then arrived on the scene the third male

(the white one from Tring Park) who was put into a smaller

enclosure with one of the females. In due time she again com-

menced laying for his edification, but he does'nt understand his

duties as far as incubation goes, and the four or five eggs she

laid for him have remained uniucubated. The female which was

left at large constantly did her best to enter the enclosure, whilst

the white male (bird No. 3) courted her from inside, stooping his

head and showering out his wing feathers. Her second husband

was meanwhile on his nest close by, but she paid him no more

attention.


Another fact is that the male bird looks after the young


ones he hatches out, entirely, and would indeed drive off the


female during the first two or three weeks of the young ones'


lives, if she attempted to approach too near, as I have seen her


do.


My Rheas have full freedom, they could run for miles if


they chose to, therefore it cannot be said that captivity has altered


their habits, or overfeeding either, for directly the severity of


winter is passed they have no food given to them, but pick up


their natural food in the meadows.


If a hen bird not only lays her eggs in a nest which her


mate has taken possession of, laying too in that nest after he has


commenced incubation, but also lays in other spots, and if that


bird shows no inclination whatever to incubate her eggs and is



