Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1890-07-10
FEATHERED DANCERS.
DANCE OF YPEcAHAs AND
FRoLICs OF OTHER BIRDS.
Creatures Make Their
Own NJ usic for Their Jiss
Fantastic Freaks.

engage in courtshlp, the females 40 noe
fall to the strongest and most active, nor
to those that are first in the field; but
that they are endowed with a faculty
corresponding to the aesthetic feeling IN
man. and deliberately select males for
their superiority in ONE aesthetic quail
ity, such as graceful or fantastic motions,
melody Of voice, brilliancy of color, or
perfection of ornaments. Doubtless all
birds were originally plain-colored, with
out ornaments and without melody, and
it is assumed that so it would always have
been but for the action of this principle,
which, like natural selection, has gone
on accommodating countless small varil-
tons, tending to give a greater lustre to
the species in each case, and resulting IN
all that we most admire in the animal
world-the r~upicola's fiame-colored man
tie, the pea-cock's crest and starry train,
the Joyous melody of the lark, and the
pretty or fantastic performances OF birds.
My experience is that mammals and birds,
with but few exceptions-probably there
are really no exceptions-possess the
habit of indulging frequently in more or
less regular set performances, with or
without sound, or composed of sound
exclusively and that these performances,
which, in many animals, are only dis
cordant cries and choruses and uncouth,
irregular motions, in the more arial,
graceful and melodious kinds take inn
m~casurably higher, more complex aud
more beautiful forms.
The terrestrial dances, often very elab-
crate, of heavy birds, like those of the
gallinaceous kind, are represented in the
more volatile species by performances IN
the air, and these are very much more
beautiful; while a very large number of
birds-hawks, vultures, swifts, swallows,
nightjars, storks, ibises. spoonbills and
: gulls-circle about in the air, singly or
in flocks. Sometimes, in serene weather,
they rise to a vast altitude, and float
about in one spot for an hour or longer
at a stretch, showing a faint bird-cloud
in the blue, that does not change its
form nor grow lighter and denser, like a
flock Of starlings; but in the seeming
confusion there is per ect order, and
amid many hundreds each swift or slow
gliding figure keeps its proper distance
with such exactitude that nc W ever
touch, even with the extremity Of the
long wings, Tapping OF motionlcss-such
: a multitude, and such miraculous pre-
Z cision in the endless c%urving motions of
all the members of it, that the spectator
can lie for an hour on his back without
WEAKNESS watching this mystic cloud
dance in the empyrcan. The black faced
ibis of Patagonia, a bird nearly as large
as a turkey, INDUCES in a curious mad
performance, usually In the evening when
~feeding-time is over. The birds OF q
flock, while winging their way to the
roosting place, all at once seem possessed
with frenzy, simultaneously dashing
downward with amazing violence, doub-
ling about in the most eccentric manner,
and, when close to the surface. rising
again to repeat the action, all the while
making the air palpitate for miles around
with their hard, metallic cries. Other
ibiscs, also birds Of other genera, have
similar aerial performances.
The displays CT most ducks known to
me take the form Of mock flights on the
water; one exception is the handsome
and loquacious whistling widgeon Of La
Plata, which has apretty aerial perform
ance. A dozen or twenty birds rise up
uulll NltN AHDtAl lkC cHlalA oHi'ho III AN
sky, and sometimes disappear from sight
altogether; and at that great altitute they
continue lowering in one spot, often for
an hour or longer, alternately closing aud
separating, the fine, bright whistling
notes and flourishes Of the male curiously
~harmonizing with the grave, measured
notes of the female; and every time they
close they slap each other on the wings
so smartly that the sound can be distinct
ly heard, like spplauding hand-claps,
ever after the birds have ceased to be
visible. The rails, active, sprightly birds
with powerful and varied voices, are
great performers; but, owing to the
nature OF the ground they inhabit, and to
their shy, suspicious character, it is not
as easy to observe their antics. The finest
of the Platan rails is the ypecaha, a beal-
tiful, active bird, about the size Of the
fowl. A number OF ypecahas have their
assembling place on a small area Of
smooth, level ground, Just above the
water, and hemmed in by dense rush
beds. First, one bird among the rushes
emits apowerfulc cry, thrice repeated and
this is a note of invitation, quickly
responded to by other birds from all
sides, as they hurriedly repair to
the usual place. In a few moment
they appear, to the number of a dozen or
twenty, bursting from the rushes and
running into the open space, and in
%stantly beginning the performance. This
is a tremendous screaming concert. The
screams they utter have a certain resem-
blance to the human voice, cxerted to its
utmost pitch and expression of extreme
terror, frenzy and despair. A long,
piercing shrek, astonishing for its We
hemence and power, is succeeded by a
lower note. as If in the first the creature
had well nigh exhausted itself; this dou-
bic scream is repeated several times, and
followed BY other sounds, resembling. as
they rise and fan. half smothered cries
of pain and means Of anguish. Suddenly
the unearthly shrieks are renewed in all
their power. While screaming the birds
rush from side Il side, as If possessed
with madness, the wings spread and vi
brating, the long beak wide open and