The Descent of Man

p. 46. In regard to Lobivanellus, see Jerdon's
'Birds of India,' vol. iii. p. 647, and Gould's
'Handbook of Birds of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 220.
For the Hoplopterus, see Mr. Allen in the 'Ibis,'
vol. v. 1863, p. 156.)
The season of love is that of battle; but the males
of some birds, as of the game-fowl and ruff,
and even the young males of the wild turkey
and grouse (18. Audubon, 'Ornithological Biography,'
vol. ii. p. 492; vol. i. pp. 4-13.), are ready
to fight whenever they meet. The presence
of the female is the teterrima belli causa. The
Bengali baboos make the pretty little males of
the amadavat (Estrelda amandava) fight together
by placing three small cages in a row, with
a female in the middle; after a little time the
two males are turned loose, and immediately a
desperate battle ensues. (19. Mr. Blyth, 'Land
and Water,' 1867, p. 212.) When many males
congregate at the same appointed spot and
fight together, as in the case of grouse and va-