be in like manner, and so on. Page after page has been written respecting the R aff; all, however, conveys
but a feeble idea o f the interest which attaches to this singular bird.
“ In its polygamous nature,” says Mr. Selby, “ this species differs from the rest o f its congeners, such
peculiarities producing the difference of habits that so remarkably distinguish it during the season of reproduction.
Shortly after the arrival o f the males in this country, which takes place during the month o f April,
and as soon as the feathers of the throat and the auricular tufts become almost fully developed, they begin to
hill, as it is termed,—that is, to assemble in companies on some dry hillock or rising spot o f ground amidst
the marshes, each individual selecting a particular stand or walk a t a small distance from his neighbour, any
attempt to encroach upon which is instantly resented, and the possession o f it most obstinately defended.
Here each bird keeps moving in his respective circle, awaiting the approach o f any one o f the other sex,
whose appearance immediately throws the whole assemblage into excitement, and acts as a signal for a general
fight, her favours being the prize o f victory. Each morning, soon after daybreak, when the males return to
their hill from the surrounding marshes, over which they disperse and feed during the night, the same kind of
warfare takes plac e; and the theatre o f these battles and amours soon becomes bare of grass, from the constant'traversiug
o f the combatants. This scene continues during the month o f May and great part o f June,
until their mutual fervour begins to abate, indicated -in the male bird by the shedding o f the ruff and auricular
plumes and the commencement of a general moult. The papillae or fleshy tubercles that cover the
face and the region o f the e jls during the height o f the season disappear; and in a short time they become
clothed in a plumage so unlike that o f the early summer as to he with difficulty recognized. With this difference
of plumage a change is also wrought in their disposition; for they no longer exhibit the extreme
pugnacity that distinguished them during the time o f hilling. In fighting the actions o f the Ruff are not
unlike those o f the Common Cock : the head is lowered and held in a direction • and the feathers
o f the neck which form the shield are distended outwards, so as to cover and protect the tender pa«« of
the body ; the auricular feathers are erected, and the tail partly expanded. In this attitude the combatants
stand opposed to each other, attempting to lay hold with their bills ; and if this is effected, by a leap the
wings are then brought into offensive action. As might be expected from the natnre o f their weapons, their
contests are not often attended w ith ^ ta l consequences. The females, generally called Reeves, possess no
elongated feathers ; and their plumage o f summer varies bat little from that of autumn and winter. They
live in the marshes, and resort to the hills of the males a t stated periods. The place selected for nidifreation
is commonly of the most swampy natnre, abounding in tufts o f tall grass and other mnrsh-plants, and upon
these the nest is formed, being only a slight depression lined with coarse grass and herbage. The eggs,
four in number, are in colour and markings very like those of the Common Snipe, hut rather larger. In the
wild state, the food of the Ruff consists of worms, aquatic insects, and their larvm: hut in confinement they
soon eat bread and milk, boiled wheat, and other farinaceous diet with avidity, upon which thev soon become
very fat;”
Macgillivray states that on the east coast of Scotland Ruffs usually appear about the middle of September,
and depart in about a fortnight. The bird is not known to breed in any p art o f Scotland or its islands; and
it is therefore more than .probable that the small flocks which are not unfreqneutly met with on the shores
of the Frith o f Forth, the east coast of Aberdeenshire, Ac. have winged their way from Scandinavia, on
some parts of which the bird is more common during the summer. ' According to Thompson, the Ruff
“ visits Ireland on its autumnal migration southward not unfrequently, but very rarely appears on Its vernal
1 movement northward.”
In Iceland it is so rare that only a single instance has been recorded o f its occurrence th e re ; and that
was as far hack as 1820.
Loche states that it visits Algeria during its migrations; and we may infer that it spreads itself in all
suitable situations in Africa.
Dr. Jerdon says that “ the Ruff and Reeve are found in large numbers in India during the cold season
sometimes assembling in vast flocks. They are frequently found in grass-kind and damp mi-idmra at s o il/
distance from water, a t other times on the edges o f tanks. They feed greedily on rice, and arc most
excellent eating.”
Mr. Swinhoe states that it visits the interior o f China in winter, from KaiBflNjMka and Siberia, where
it is common.
Like Mr. Selby, I must refer my readers, for a full and interesting accotm o f the Huff, the modes o f
taking them, &c., to the Supplement to Montagu’s ‘ Ornithological Dictionary/ art. “ lldT,” and also to the
Rev. Richard Lubbock’s ‘ Observations on the Fauna o f Norfolk/
The front figures represent ^R u f f and a Reeve, o f the natural size.