NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 405 



skirting the space — two, again, at the very tip-top — it is heard 

 from one or another of them, and now the first-comer begins to 

 rookie continuously. The note is now longer than before, and 

 has a greater volume of sound in it. It is a sort of talking, and 

 begins to sound, after a preliminary " roor " or two, wonderfully 

 like the sentence, " Give him his coppers; he's going to take the 

 electric." This may be fanciful, but so I suppose is the con- 

 stantly repeated remark, or dark allusion, of the " Brain-fever " 

 Bird in India, and having heard the thing once it is impossible 

 not to go on hearing it, with increasing distinctness, every time 

 the sound goes up, which it does continually, or almost so, 

 during a whole hour, till I leave. At long intervals the bird 

 stops to utter the more angry-sounding note, which is the only 

 relief from this distracting hallucination. 



At 7.30 no other birds are there, and I go. 



April 17th. — Up at 3, and get to the place about 3.40. 



First " tir-whay " note at 3.45, and now come some very loud 

 and striking ones. Then the rookling, and that other and more 

 plaintive-sounding note that I have spoken of. With them all 

 the air is now quite vocal. It is all amongst the belt of trees, 

 however, and probably from amongst their branches. " Choc- 

 choc-kerade," in soft, complaining, yet resonant tones, represents, 

 fairly well, the plaintive-sounding note. 



4.5. — I can now see some birds — at least two in the arena ; 

 three or four, as it turns out, for all at once, now, at 4.15, there 

 is a sudden and instantaneous flight of all of them back into 

 the trees. 



4.25. — It is now light, and the pause I spoke of, the other 

 day, seems to have commenced. All around the arena silence 

 reigns. 



At 5.30 three birds, and then another one, fly down into the 

 arena. They stand, or make a step or two, spreading out their 

 tails, as described, and then two approach each other, uttering 

 that note which I have called the plaintive one — very soft and 

 plaintive-sounding it is — and conjectured might belong to the 

 hen, but which would now seem to be the note of war par excel- 

 lence. Once or twice the birds approach in this manner, but the 

 utmost they do is to make a slight feint at one another. Then, 

 all at once, all four — for there are not more— rise and fly into 



