which it has come under my notice in this species had 

 no connection with parental instinct. The curious collar 

 or ruff of feathers of the male birds is fully developed by 

 the middle of May (I write of birds in captivity), and is 

 carried throughout June. I have found that this species 

 thrives remarkably well in our aviaries in ordinary 

 weather, but cannot bear severe frost ; the actions and 

 attitudes of the males are most amusing and grotesque, 

 and both sexes become very tame. It would take at 

 least half a dozen plates to display even the most 

 ordinary varieties of the nuptial plumage of the Ruff, in 

 fact it would be difficult in May or June to find two 

 males precisely alike. The principal figure in the first of 

 the accompanying Plates is an excellent portrait of a 

 specimen in the aviary at Lilford, in his full summer 

 " glory." The diBFerence of size and weight of the two 

 sexes is very remarkable, for whilst a wild Ruff in 

 August and September will generally pull down from 

 7 to 8 oz. (often a good deal more), it is exceptional to 

 meet with a Reeve that weighs 6 oz., and I have a 

 specimen of the latter killed in perfect condition at 

 Corfu in the autumn that weighed just 4| oz. 



