COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE. 
271 
cyaneus ) at the nest one day, a bird which is nowhere 
very common : within forty-eight hours he shot two other 
males, and would, in all probability, have killed a third, 
had he not shot the female on the following day. One 
spring morning my father shot the male of a pair of 
Partridges; the hen bird flew a short distance, and then 
alighted. Instantly another male appeared by her side, 
and seemed to take up with the widow, for a few minutes 
later we might have killed them both at one shot. 
The female is not so soon replaced as the male ; 
often, indeed, not for a whole year. Of this I will give 
an example, which came under my father’s own observa¬ 
tion. He killed the female of a pair of Gray Wagtails 
(Motacilla sulphured), without being able to obtain the 
male; the latter scoured the surrounding country with 
loud cries to seek a fresh mate. His search, however, 
was fruitless; and thus he was forced to remain single. 
From the above anecdote we may infer that among 
birds there are, in fact, more males than females; and 
we will produce further evidence in support of this 
assumption. Every housekeeper, who has charge of the 
fowl yard, knows that out of a -brood of chickens there 
are always more males than females. Another striking 
proof, in favour of the assertion made as to the predomi¬ 
nance of one sex over another, is the fighting that takes 
place among the males for the favours of the hen bird. 
All sportsmen look upon it as a crime to kill a hen 
Partridge in spring, though they unhesitatingly shoot 
the cock bird: “there are plenty of them,” they say; 
and they are right. The hens are always soon mated 
afresh.* 
* It must be borne in mind that the sporting usages mentioned in the work are 
not always in accordance with those of this country.— W. J. 
