SEXUAL SELECTION IN BIRDS. 171 



note — which I forgot to at the time — that before the later and 

 more frequent pairings with him took place, then, the Eeeves 

 moved down to where he stood, in a little troop of four or five. 

 They did so also now, so that it begins to look as though 

 different birds had little seraglios of their own in different parts 

 of the ground. An observation just made seems to bear on 

 this. About to pair, and full of the excitement incident to such 

 a prospect, this bird — the brown one — kept delaying to do so, in 

 order to give intermittent peckings to another Euff, who lay 

 crouched just in front of him. I could not, for some time, 

 understand what the object of this was, but it, at last, appeared 

 that this bird was in his way, and upon his at last taking the 

 hint and running off, the intended Reeve, coming from behind, 

 occupied the exact place where he had been, and the pairing was, 

 at once, accomplished. It thus appears that this golden-ruffed 

 Lothario has a certain place, or run, of his own, which is dedi- 

 cated to the performance of the nuptial rite. The peckings 

 administered to this particular bird— which seems to have chosen 

 that place without an admitted right to it — I had noticed before, 

 but could assign no particular meaning to them, and other of 

 this favoured Buff's actions become, now, plainer to me ; also 

 his inaction this morning, for he did not seek the Reeves, but 

 waited for them to come to him. I had not noticed this tendency, 

 to the same extent, in the blue, and still less in the other chosen 

 birds ; now, however, I do notice it in his case, and, since his 

 place is close to that of the brown Ruff, this reduces the likeli- 

 hood of the four or five Ruffs who came down to that locality all 

 belonging to the latter. 



Does anything I have seen this afternoon — the driving off of 

 this bird, for instance — call for modification of what I have said 

 in regard to the part which fighting plays in the Ruff's court- 

 ship ? As to this I must reflect and observe further — but I 

 hardly think so. 



April 27th. — At my place, again, about 3.30 a.m., and shortly 

 afterwards counted eight Ruffs fly in, in the semi-darkness, so 

 that I think this must be their habit. Some, perhaps, may 

 come in earlier or sleep there — if they do sleep at all during the 

 night. I put none up, however, in coming to the place, as I 

 should have done, I think, had they been there. Of this, how- 



