. Life histories of North American diving birds : order Pygopodes . is picturesque and interesting bird. Cowtship.—I have watched groups of these birds off the southerncoast of Labrador during the courtship season. They swim togetherin closely crowded ranks, rarely diving, for their thoughts are noton food. At frequent intervals individuals rise up in the water andflap their wings as if from nervousness. Again two males fight vig-orously, flapping their wings meanwhile and making the water foamabout them. Again two, possibly a pair, hold each other by thebiUs and move their heads and necks lik
. Life histories of North American diving birds : order Pygopodes . is picturesque and interesting bird. Cowtship.—I have watched groups of these birds off the southerncoast of Labrador during the courtship season. They swim togetherin closely crowded ranks, rarely diving, for their thoughts are noton food. At frequent intervals individuals rise up in the water andflap their wings as if from nervousness. Again two males fight vig-orously, flapping their wings meanwhile and making the water foamabout them. Again two, possibly a pair, hold each other by thebiUs and move their heads and necks like billing doves. Nowseveral are seen to throw their heads back with a jerk until thebill points up, and this is repeated a number of times. EdmundSelous (1905), who has watched this action near at hand in the puffinsof the Shetlands, says the bill is opened wide but no sound is ut-tered. The brilliant lining of the month is therefore the result ofsexual selection and it evidently foi:ms a part of the courtship dis-play. U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 107 PL. 20. Bald Island, Quebec. A. C. Bent.
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