. British birds . , his name that still doth hold,His apetite to please, that farre and neare was sought,For him (as some have sayd) from Denmark, hither brought. It is possible that the Danish king introduced the taste for theknot, which lasted down to the end of the seventeenth century. 306 BRITISH BIRDS As long ago as 1820 the knot was found breeding in tlie MelvilleIslands (lat. 80°), and later, at various times, in other arctic localities,but in no case were the eggs preserved. During the pairing-timethe birds toy with each other in the air, the male uttering a sweet,fluting whistle. On o
. British birds . , his name that still doth hold,His apetite to please, that farre and neare was sought,For him (as some have sayd) from Denmark, hither brought. It is possible that the Danish king introduced the taste for theknot, which lasted down to the end of the seventeenth century. 306 BRITISH BIRDS As long ago as 1820 the knot was found breeding in tlie MelvilleIslands (lat. 80°), and later, at various times, in other arctic localities,but in no case were the eggs preserved. During the pairing-timethe birds toy with each other in the air, the male uttering a sweet,fluting whistle. On our coasts they are very gregarious, feeding onthe extensive mud-flats in large flocks. It has been observed thatthe young birds that come in advance of the adults in August arestrangely tame in disposition. In May, when the return migrationto their arctic breeding-grounds takes place, the birds that arrive onour shores from the south have their rich nuptial colours fullydeveloped. Ruff and Reeve. Machetes Fig. 104—Eufp and Reeve. \ natural size. The male in spring dress has the face covered with yellowishcaruncles; a tuft of long feathers on each side of the head ; throatfurnished with a shield-like ruff of feathers; general plumagemottled with ash, black, brown, yellowish, and white, the orna-mental feathers being differently coloured in almost every indi-vidual. In his winter pliunage the male has the face feathered, andis without the ruff and ear-like tufts; under parts pale , twelve inches. The female, or reeve, is a third smaller BUFF AND REEVE 807 than the male, and in colour resembles the male in his winterdress. If by chance the reader has seen in some musemn or collectiona group of ruffs in full breeding-plumage, displaying their immense,shield-like ruffs of many colours, their beauty, singularity, andwonderful variety must have astonished him. The curious featherornament is similar in form in aU the birds, but the colour variesinfinitely, and it
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Keywords: ., bookauthorhudsonwh, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookyear1921
