bleat of a goat. For long years discussion waged furiously 
as to the source of this sound. Some held that it was pro- 
duced by the voice: others by the tremulous motion of the 
wing-feathers : others, again, contended that it was caused 
by the tail-feathers. This was first mooted by the Danish 
naturalist, Meeves, and he produced some very striking and 
curious evidence to prove his view. He showed that the 
outermost tail-feathers had peculiarly thickened shafts, 
which were also bent in a very striking way. By removing 
these feathers, and sticking them into a cork, he was enabled, 
by twirling the cork rapidly round at the end of a string, 
to reproduce the “bleat’”’ exactly. Many years later Dr. 
Philip Bahr revived this experiment, for the purpose of finally 
setting the matter at rest—for there were still many who 
remained unconverted to the Meeves interpretation. Dr. 
Bahr left no room for further doubt. He showed, too, that 
during the production of this sound these tail-feathers were 
extended laterally, so as to separate them from the rest of 
the tail, and so give the air rushing past them during the 
earthward plunge full play on these sound-producing struc- 
tures. He, too, applied the test first instituted by Meeves, 
and so clinched his arguments. One may hear this strange 
music as early as February, and even, though rarely, as late 
as July. But it is essentially a breeding-season, or rather 
a “‘ Courtship ”’ performance sound, though it may be evoked 
192 
