NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 179 



most imminent. In such cases the first bird would rush out 

 towards the one approached, who, on his part, might advance to 

 meet him, or himself to court the hen ; yet I witnessed only one 

 determined fight. Here the birds sprang at each other, with 

 fury, and the buffetings which they bestowed with their wings 

 made a loud noise. It, however, lasted but a short time, nor 

 were the general features of the campaign other than as in 

 Sweden, viz. much threatening and fronting one another, with 

 the curious plaintive-sounding cry, but mutual chariness in 

 beginning. I saw only one actual pairing (coition), but, except 

 that the hen gave voluntary signal for this, I did not catch the 

 circumstances that led up to it. The assembly-ground was only 

 some thirty or forty paces from where I sat, and looked down 

 upon it from a slight elevation. Except for some tufts of grass, 

 there was nothing to hide the birds, but much of the space was 

 quite open, and, on the whole, a better view could hardly have 

 been obtained. 



May nh.— First " whi-i-i-ish " note at 3.30 a.m., followed 

 almost immediately by the plaintive "chirrer" one, and then 

 the whirble. I am, therefore, only just in time, having taken 

 my seat some five minutes before, when everything was still, 

 though I put up one bird as I walked over. For the rest, this 

 morning is but a repetition and confirmation of yesterday. The 

 hens are assiduously courted by the males, and they occasionally 

 fight, spreading out their tails when they do so, which are then 

 seen to have some white in them, as well as those of the cocks. 

 But this is confined to the tips of the feathers, which appear as 

 little white spot3, running round the circumference of the fan — 

 at least the eye distinguishes no more. One hen also is some- 

 times chased away by another, which means, of course, that 

 there would be a fight did not this other flee. For the rest the 

 hens seem hard to win, and I only saw one case where a cock 

 was successful in his desires. A tuft of grass, indeed, hid the 

 actual sight of this from my view (as it may have done in other 

 cases), but there could be no mistaking the conduct of the hen, 

 when she emerged from behind it, consisting, as it did, of 

 several very satisfied little motions, ruffling and shaking the 

 feathers, and then a vigorous preening, of which there had 

 been no hint before, nor was it in the order of things. 



p2 



