The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-04-20
VAGARIES
OF BIRD
LOVERS


There are two popular ways of winning
a mate in birdland. First 10 secure her
favor. either by caresses. or by showing
off" of plumage. or performances. such as
strutting, drummins. dancing. etc, when,
as Darwin says, she makes her choice; or,
secondly, to settle matters by driving away
other pretenders and by fighting. in which
case she has no choice, but is the prey of
the victor.
In the great variety of methods employed,
one family of birds is unrivaled. One might
paraphrase an old saying and classify the
feathered suitors in three divisions-woo-
ers, DULLES and grouse. For that family
wherever found. from the poles to the
equator. from Central America to the
United States. is always and forever one Of
marked characteristics. of idiosyncrasies
most grotesque, with its strutting and
bowling, drumming. dancing and growing;
it's outlandish poses and its awkward cap
ers; some of them rustic the tailfeathers
like a silk train. some fly high in the air
and croak: and some run around with
wings dragging. They rufle their feathers.
twist their necks and utter grunts or
croaks, or whines or roars. roll over and
over. spring INTO the air. anu III ldCls act
like candidates for a madhouse. Some blow
up the loose skin like an orange on the side
of the head-as our prairie chicken, others
puff out a breast-bag like a pocket-as our
p~ectoral sandpiper, and still others fight
like savages. In fact. there is hardly a way
OF securing a mate known in the world of
birds that has not its representative in
this family.
lr,Is,rDn= ovo oDT 90 the 0nara-hofn Ha
style of fascination. comes. as might be
anticipated. from that land of the unex-
pected-China. The bird, one of the pleas
ants, is ordinarily a parsonage of modest
and dignifed appearance, who hides his
gorgeousness in secluded retreats of the
HimaIaya mountains. But the irrepressible
reporter has sought him out and shown
him up in his transports. In courtship he
suddenly blossoms out into the most gro
tesque figure conceivable; ieshy horns rise
on his head, hanging wattles swell and ex-
pand, wings open and droop, plumage
stands out all over. and the possessor of
all this glory sinks to the ground in an
ecstasy. After a few moments of this daz-
cling display he calmly rises to his feet,
shakes himself into shape, and goes about
his business as if nothing had happened.
4 Z ELM O--
So much has been written about the
wonderful plumage shows of foreign birds
at wooing time, that We overlook the fact
even if we are familiar with it-that we
have ourselves at least one family which
can bear comparison with the world for
feather decoration, and no doubt for court
ship displays, though the birds have been
so little studied that we have almost no
~ L = rrI.-. 80 che
humming birds with their fantastic frills
and fans, their crests, gorgets and eccen-
trio feathers of many kinds, exceeding in
variety the birds of Paradise themselves.
and all IN colors that rival gems. They
have not the big showiness Of the peacock
and the argus pheasant. but are far more
wonderful and attractive in their exquisite
proportions and dainty movements.
More interesting, If less startling, than
grouse manners, are the wooing ways of
some OF our familiar birds. What can be
more charming, and at the same time more
impressive, than the method of the great
horned owl. There are no poses for display.
no capers TO astonish the object OF his
choice; he is, in fact, almost human in his
approaches, he wins by caresses. He quiet
~ draws near to his beloved. who stands
on a IdUCu lAAAliiS HNA hCd0 away bhC
a bashful girl. Fondly he strokes her with
his bill, bowling solemnly, touching her
beak with his-kissing might one say? Then
bowling again. and siding a little closer as
she shyly draws away. His demonstrations
are received with apparent difhdence but
without resentment, and after awhile they
fly slowly away side by side-on wedding
journey, perhaps.
Gentle and caressing, also, is the wooing
of doves with breasts pressed together and
mouth TO mouth, like the children of
men," says a sympathetic observer. A be-
w~itching way to win a mate is to charm
her by music. This is.the fashion of our
little house wren who arrives first in the
nesting region, selects a site and begins the
home, and. then draws a mate out of the
vast unknown by his charm OF voice. No
one could do it better. for he is a delightful
and a tireless singer.
Posing or showing off seems to be a par
ticularly effective way of impressing feath-
cred feminlnity. The object is to draw at
tention TO some peculiar beauty. of plum
age, OF coloring, or any unusual decoration.
or to show the variety of positions one can
assume. 1t is significant and sometimes
surprising to note the birds exact apprecia-
ton of his individual charm and his we'll
planned manner OF displaying it. The tiny
kinglet. for example, whose one spot Of
bright color is a narrow stripe OF orange
on top of the head. expands that till it looks
like q golden crown and gives him a dis
tinguished appearance.
Our flicker. or golden-winged woodpecker,
is comical in almost every act Of his life,
and he makes himself Irresistible by sit
ting UP very straight. fiuffing out his beau
tiful spotted breast with it's velvety black
crescent, and spreading wings and tail to
show their golden lining. To this exhibition
he adds action, bowling TO right and left
and thus displaying his last special attrac-
ton. the rich black cheek patches, or mus
taches."
A fy-catcher of the Southwest-the YER
m~illion-whose beauty is a brilliant vermil-
lion breast. displays that peculiar adorn-
ment by holding himself poised in air over
the head Of the duller-colored parsonage ne
! desires to charm He hovers at a height of