14 Hee Ae Ds BeOiN Ss eiVelce eee 
on flat ground occupying an area perhaps one-fourth the size of a city block. 
The strongest cocks occupy the center of the booming ground, each 
staking out his own territory with invisible boundaries that only he, and 
his neighbors, can discern. The mating dance begins with an individual 
cock taking a short run, stopping suddenly, stamping his feet in a drum- 
like patter; he bows, the pinnae on his neck are erect like horns and they 
point straight forward as though he were a bull sizing up a matador. His 
air sacs fill to an orange sphere nearly as large as a tennis ball, and the 
“booming” commences as he inflates them with staccato measure. 
Each cock defends his “territory” against rivals, and tries to invade 
ground of his neighbors. He comes on the run when his ground is threatened 
by a rival; the two have a beak-to-beak confrontation with squawks and 
cackles. Sometimes they sink to their bellies continuing the debate, fre- 
quently a fight ensues, nonfatal and non-bloody, and the intruder returns 
to his own territory minus a few feathers. 
THE HENS ARRIVE on the booming ground later than the cocks, and when 
one appears she is often greeted with whoops from the cocks closest to her. 
A cock will intensify his display when a hen approaches, but she usually 
meanders through the displaying males with disdain, often picking at he 
ground as though she were more interested in full crop than in progeny. 
Hens too, however, contest choice spots on the booming ground and favored 
males with other hens. 
She is not as disinterested as she appears and may mate with several 
cocks. The entire ritual, however, is time-consuming and often turns out 
to be more of a social event than progenitive. Males continue to display, 
seemingly preoccupied ‘with their own impressive activity, while females 
gradually lose interest and leave the booming ground after two or three 
hours to feed in nearby fields. 
