290 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



curious to see two ruffle, crouch, even spring at each other, then 

 snoozle down, side by side, in the closest proximity, almost, or 

 even quite, touching. If there can be friendly fighting, here, I 

 think we have it, but sociable fighting— or fighting which is part 

 and parcel of a most sociable gathering — it is. On one of the 

 little outbreaks of the above-described nature, not coming, in 

 this case, to blows, I noticed, I think, both the birds — but, at any 

 rate, one — strike the ground two or three times with his bill, 

 turning his head from side to side as he did so, as though this 

 were a preliminary of battle. Yet this action, so striking in 

 itself, and which looked like a characteristic one, was not forced, 

 afterwards, upon my notice. 



All at once an immensely tall, gaunt figure of a bird, with an 

 immensely long bill, stalked stiffly over the tourney-ground, going 

 at a foot's pace. For a moment I thought another Euff, whose 

 show-feathers had not yet appeared, was there, but it was a Bar- 

 tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) that stood before me. One 

 might have thought that he challenged all present, but, if so, it 

 was not taken up by any of the six. Eeally, however, the Ruffs 

 were quite indifferent to the tall stranger, as was he to them. 



Before this I had been interested by the excited actions, on 

 the same stage, of a Titlark or Meadow-Pipit (Anthus pratensis). 

 This little bird, either in love, as one would suppose, or defiance, 

 though I could see no other one near it, executed, at intervals, a 

 little dance or stampede on the ground, fanning the tail and 

 quivering the wings the whilst, and uttering at each little 

 paroxysm a full, trilling note. Were a Titlark as big as a 

 Euff, such a display would be quite as effective, or even more so, 

 than anything the latter does. 



I left not long after this, and it was 4.45 in the afternoon 

 when I got to my watch-place again. A number of Euffs went 

 off as I came up, but when I put up the glasses one was standing 

 on the grounds, and he was shortly joined by five others, I forget 

 whether in one or two relays. There was nothing of interest — 

 except the seeing them — the birds being more quiescent even 

 than this morning. Fighting certainly did not seem the object 

 of their meeting, and the few short spasms, in no case leading 

 to actual conflict, which shot through one or another of them, 

 had more the appearance of some nervous malady to which they 



