The Bemidji pioneer., 1898-02-10
THE BIRDS ODD WAYS
STRANGE ANTICS IN WHICH
THEY INDULGE.
How the Lapwjng Dances-Three in .
Row, to the Accompaniment Of Their
Drumming These songsters March
and Keep Time.

Row, to the Accompaniment OF Tholr
J Drumming Theae Songsters March
and Keep Time.
OF all the interesting points Oh
which Mr. Dixon touches in his "Curi-
osities of Bird Life" perhaps none is
more remarkable than the strange
antics in which some birds indulge,
especially at the pairing season, says
the London Daily News. With what
odd gestures will a smartly dressed
cock-sparrow, for instance, endeavor
to cut good figure in the eyes OF mis-
demure and sober-tinted lady-loVe:
With dropping wings and tail raised
high in the air, he shuffles along the
ground or sidles toward his mate as
she sits on the edge of the ralnplpe,
while he utters, instead of bursts OF
soul-stirring melody, strange, lnartlc-
ulate sounds, intended, no doubt, qulte
as honestly as the noble music OF the
song-thrush to express the depth ana
fervor of his passion. To similar
performance, though with more OF Dig
nifty and action about it, the black
cock treats his wives, for, unlike the
better-conducted though often much
illuminated sparrow, he Is not satls-
fed with a single mate. One OF the
most characteristic of spring sounds on
Exmoor, as evening darkens, or, SUN
more, in the early hours Of the morn
ing, is the challenge of the blackcocK.
In the month of April he who is ABROAD
early enough may watch, upon the
russet slopes of Dunkery, little par
ty of blackjack at one Of their recog-
nized and probably ancestral meeting
places, by one of the little moorland
streams, or on the wet edge OF some
swampy hollow. Each bird crouches
on hillock, in the oldest of attitudes
its head down, its wings a-droop, It's
beautiful tail raised-and utters at IN
tervals strange almost weird notes,
sometimes suggestive of the purr OF
turtle-dove, and sometimes more like
the cry of chamois. Presently an old
cock, grand in his new black coat, will
get up and march backward and for
ward with his neck stretched out and
his wings trailing on the ground. Now
he leaps into the air, sometimes turn
ing right round before he alights, and
now again he crouches close upon his
hillock. It is said that in places where
black game are few single cock Will
go through all this by himself, or at
most with only his wives for witnesses.
But if there are more cocks than one
the proceedings generally end with
fight Where the birds are numerous
the young cocks, who are not allowed
to enter the arena with their elders,
hold unauthorized celebrations of their
own. There are many birds which
thus, like higher mortals, have their
fits of madness in the days Of court
ship. But there are some, such as the
spur-winged lapwing of La Plata,
which are, like the lady in the song.
so fond Of dancing, especially Of what
the natives call their serious dance.
meaning square one, that they in
dulge in such performances all the
year. not in the daytime only. but even
on moonlight nights. "If," says Mr..
Hudson, who tells the story, "a per-
son watches any two birds for some
time-fo they live in pairs-he will
see another lapwing, one of neigh
boring couple, rise up and fly to them,
leaving his own mate to guard their
chosen ground, and instead of resent
ing this visit as an unwarranted, In
trusion on their domain, as they would
certainly resent the approach of al
most any other bird, they welcome it
with notes and signs Of pleasure. Ad-
vancing to the visitor, they place
themselves behind it; then all three,
keeping step, begin rapid march, ut
tering resonant drumming notes in
time with their movements; the notes
of the pair behind them being emitted
in a stream, like drum roll, while the
lead utters loud single notes at regular
intervals. The march ceases; the lead
er elevates his wings and stands mo-
tionless and erect, still uttering loud
notes, while the other two, with puffed-
out plumage, and standing exactly
abreast, stoop forward and downward
until the tops Of their beaks touch the
ground, and, sinking their rhythmical
notes to murmur, remain for some
time in this posture. The performance
is then over, and the visitor goes back
TO his own ground and mate, to receive
a visitor himself later on.