NUPTIAL HABITS OF TEE BLACKCOCK. 29 



pretending to be brave. Both seem about to leap, but draw 

 back, in the moment of doing so. They are about to grapple, 

 but do not grapple, to spar, but refrain from sparring. At last, 

 fronting one another, with hardly six inches between them, they 

 rookie in the most absurd manner, repeating the whole sentence, 

 time after time, as though they were sitting in trees. It was 

 really a ludicrous scene ; yet, once, the bird whose territory had 

 been invaded did really attack the other, taking him, I fancy, 

 by surprise. But it was " like the lightning in the collied 

 night," over almost before one can say " it lightens." After 

 this, both cooled rapidly, and, before long, the invading bird went 

 back to his own part of the arena, where he remained, for some 

 little while, and then flew up into a tree. The other did not 

 remain much longer, and though the morning is now fair, and 

 not nearly so cold as it has been, the arena, at 6 o'clock, still 

 remains empty. 



It would seem, from this, that, like the Buffs, each male 

 Blackcock has his particular domain on the assembly-ground, 

 though the size of this is in proportion to the much greater 

 space of the whole. On the other mornings, too, the same 

 birds, as I now make no doubt they are, have flown down into 

 approximately the same areas. Yet it was a very different scene 

 when my observations were interrupted by that shot, for then, 

 in a small space, some half-dozen cocks were courting nearly as 

 many hens. It is difficult to say why, most unluckily, on that 

 particular morning, the coming-on disposition should have been 

 so much more marked. 



(To be continued.) 



