214 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



made to reflect, " means vigour, but those red legs, that white 

 tail, and pretty, waving wings, they are beyond my capacities. I 

 am reflective merely, not aesthetic — that belongs to man alone. 

 The brain for me ; to be caught through the eye is for my betters." 

 So might a savage, delighted with a scarlet uniform and gold- 

 laced cocked hat, be supposed to think, not of these, but of their 

 properties only. Or does the Jackdaw steal the ring, not because 

 it is a bright object, but as embodying the general conception of 

 brightness, and, through that, of something else ? 



Besides what I have recorded in regard to the Redshanks, I 

 was witness of a prolonged contention on the part of two males 

 for the favour of a female. The latter, here, certainly seemed 

 quite indifferent during the greater part of the time, but in 

 regard to this, the duration of the thing must be taken into con- 

 sideration, for when I went, at'the end of two hours, it was still 

 going on, after a short interval. She was not altogether in- 

 different, for in the earlier part of it she herself took a part in the 

 matter — like the Kentish Plover — on at least five occasions ; but 

 I think more. She ran up to the rivals, and I noticed a curious 

 little run which she made about one or other of them. Here, 

 too, I was reminded of the hen Kentish Plover, but I cannot, 

 any more than in her case, say if she singled out one bird for 

 this attention, or what, precisely, she meant by it. Moreover, 

 as the fighters got to some distance along the shore, she, on 

 more than one occasion, flew after them ; nor am I counting such 

 followings with the more intimate visits which I have noticed. 

 Now, all this is not indifference, but, as the thing went on, she 

 certainly seemed to weary of and lose interest in it, nor is it very 

 remarkable if she did. Would not many a woman do so too, 

 even though she had, say, a slight preference ? Anyone, how- 

 ever, who had come during the second hour of the affair, must 

 have noticed the apparent complete indifference of the female, 

 had he been able to identify her, and might have made a great 

 point of it. I, however, was there at the beginning, and saw 

 what I have recorded. 



There would appear to be two essential or common features 

 in the more ordinary courtship of birds — first, the contention of 

 two males only for the female ; and, secondly, the very long period 

 over which such contention may extend. It may well last, as it 



