280 The Bird 
feather shield of his opponent. But the force of the 
blow would spend itself on the inch of space between the 
shield and the feathers of the bird’s breast. When, in 
his native haunts, the Ruff has conquered his rival, his 
triumphant dances before the female are most elaborate. 
While these facts are not exactly pertinent to the physical 
Fic. 224.—Breast ornament of a Wild Turkeycock. 
life of the bird, yet I mention them to show to what prac- 
tical, as well as esthetic, uses the development of some 
portion of the bird’s plumage may be devoted. 
What a contrast to the cloak of the Ruff is the pectoral 
decoration of the Wild Turkeycock: a great tuft of 
coarse, black hair-like feathers, like the tail of a horse 
