THE RUFF. 
809 
by the grass being trodden down and mud-stained, 
as also by the feathers and dung which lie scattered 
about. One male waits for the other, and as soon as an 
adversary is forthcoming a duel takes place, in which the 
combatants fight until they are exhausted, rest awhile, 
and then commence de novo; after they have apparently 
separated for good, they will return again to the charge. 
Several pairs may be seen fighting at the same time, but 
each set of adversaries keep to themselves. Amidst a 
variety of movements they strike at one another with 
their beaks, seeking, with ruffled plumage and outspread 
frills, to ward off the blows on either side; when engaged 
they appear so excited as to tremble with rage. It is 
fortunate that their beaks are blunt at the end, so that it 
is impossible for them to damage one another seriously, 
the loss of a few feathers being all the harm done; a 
fatal termination to one of these duels never occurs. 
The reason why they fight at all remains a mystery, as 
yet unexplained. It is supposed that these fights take 
place on account of the females; but these latter are 
rarely, if ever, present on such occasions, and the defeated 
bird even seeks his lady-love after the battle is over. In 
fact, on the field, neither bird is really conquered, and 
outside of the tilt-yard, so to speak, no Ruff is assaulted 
or disturbed when in company with his mistress; in 
short, they seem to fight from sheer love of the thing. 
Usually the frequenters of the ring are only males, 
though a female may occasionally be seen there. In the 
latter case it generally happens that one of the males 
stops fighting for the time being, and flies off with his 
mate; he soon returns, however, to finish the round. 
Ruffs are very shy of human observation when engaged 
in these tournaments, and cannot bear to be watched by 
