Photo by C. N. Mavroyeni] [Smyrna.
WOODCOCK.
The female is larger than the male.
Photo by A. H. P. Cruickshank] [Wellington.
OYSTER-CATCHER ON ITS NEST.
Three eggs are laid in a slight hollow in the ground. The oyster-catcher is one of the most wary of the Plover Tribe, and very difficult to approach.
In the Dunlin, again, we have a similar change, the upper-parts being in winter grey, the under-parts white: in the spring the former become black, with an admixture of rust-colour, and the latter black in so far as the breast is concerned, but the abdomen remains white.
In many of that section of the Plover Tribe distinguished as "Wading-birds," the changes which take place in the spring in the plumage of the upper-parts resemble those already instanced, but the under-parts turn to a rich chestnut instead of black. This occurs in the forms known as the Godwits, Knots, and Sanderlings, for example.
In all the instances so far quoted, both male and female are coloured alike, but, as already hinted, occasionally the change of plumage affects the male only. This is the case with the Ruff. The importance of this exception is still further increased by the fact that the change in coloration is accompanied by the development of a large frill around the neck, surmounted by two large tufts called "ears," and fleshy, brightly coloured warts around the beak. The coloured picture of the male in its spring dress, which will be found on another page, gives an admirable idea of the typical ruff, but it must necessarily fail to give any indication of one very remarkable fact concerning this frill and the two "ears," and for this reason—no two individuals ever have these peculiar feathers of the same coloration and pattern. The range of colour is certainly not great—the changes being rung, so to speak, on black, white, chestnut, bay, and ash-colour. Diversification is gained by contrasting the "ears" with the frill, and adding bars or streaks to the light coloration, and purple, green, and violet reflections to the dark. These ornaments are donned in a surprisingly short space of time, and are discarded as quickly, for they are scarcely completed by the month of May, and are thrown off again at the end of June. During the time that this resplendent livery is worn the males engage in mimic battles—which may occasionally develop into real ones—arranged apparently for the edification of the females, which, it seems, select as partners, at least for that season, those which please or excite most. This power of pleasing must certainly be considerable, for the ruff is a polygamous species.