The Descent of Man

have fought; and the black-cocks "make the
feathers fly in every direction," when several
"engage in a battle royal." The elder Brehm gives
a curious account of the Balz, as the lovedances
and love-songs of the Black-cock are
called in Germany. The bird utters almost continuously
the strangest noises: "he holds his tail
up and spreads it out like a fan, he lifts up his
head and neck with all the feathers erect, and
stretches his wings from the body. Then he takes
a few jumps in different directions, sometimes
in a circle, and presses the under part of
his beak so hard against the ground that the
chin feathers are rubbed off. During these movements
he beats his wings and turns round
and round. The more ardent he grows the more
lively he becomes, until at last the bird appears
like a frantic creature." At such times the blackcocks
are so absorbed that they become almost
blind and deaf, but less so than the capercailzie:
hence bird after bird may be shot on the same
spot, or even caught by the hand. After perfor-