36a TRAVELS IN 
modeft drefs of his mate. The moft extraor- 
dinary circumftance is, that the vertical tail 
alfo changes to a horizontal one, and the male 
fo exadly refembles the female, that it is not 
poITible to diftinguifh them from each other. 
The female has her turn. When flie reaches 
a certain age, and has loft the faculty of pro- 
pagating the fpecie^, fhe clothes herfelf for the 
remainder of her days in the garb which the 
male had temporarily affumed ; her tall, like 
his at that period, grows long, and, like his 
alfo, from horizontal becomes vertical. 
The birds of this fpecies aflbciate together, 
live in a fort of republic, and build their nefts 
near to each other. The fociety ufually con- 
fifts of about fourfcore females : but whether, 
by a particular law of nature, more females are 
produced than males, or for any other reafon 
of which I am ignorant, there are never more 
than twelve or fifteen males to this number of 
females, who have them in common. 
All that I have here wrhten 1 have read In 
the great book of nature. Such obfervations, 
perhaps, have no great merit, and I confider 
them myfelf as of little value: but they are at 
leaft accurate ; and the critics who have been 
, defirous 
