hair erected on horses and cattle, on which he had operated and was
again going to operate. When I showed a stuffed snake to a Peccary, the
hair rose in a wonderful manner along its back; and so it does with the
boar when enraged. An Elk which gored a man to death in the United
States, is described as first brandishing his antlers, squealing with
rage and stamping on the ground; at length his hair was seen to rise
and stand on end, and then he plunged forward to the attack.[411] The
hair likewise becomes erect on goats, and, as I hear from Mr. Blyth, on
some Indian antelopes. I have seen it erected on the hairy Ant-eater;
and on the Agouti, one of the Rodents. A female Bat,[412] which reared
her young under confinement, when any one looked into the cage erected
the fur on her back, and bit viciously at intruding fingers.
Birds belonging to all the chief Orders ruffle their feathers when
angry or frightened. Every one must have seen two cocks, even quite
young birds, preparing to fight with erected neck-hackles; nor can
these feathers when erected serve as a means of defence, for
cock-fighters have found by experience that it is advantageous to trim
them. The male Ruff (_Machetes pugn _) likewise erects its collar of
feathers when fighting. When a dog approaches a common hen with her
chickens, she spreads out her wings, raises her tail, ruffles all her
feathers, and looking as ferocious as possible, dashes at the intruder.
The tail is not always held in exactly the same position; it is
sometimes so much erected, that the central feathers, as in the
accompanying drawing, almost touch the back. Swans, when angered,
likewise raise their wings and tail, and erect their feathers. They
open their beaks, and make by paddling little rapid starts forwards,
against any one who approaches the water s edge too closely. Tropic
birds[413] when disturbed on their nests are said not to fly away, but
merely to stick out their feathers and scream. The Barn-owl, when
approached instantly swells out its plumage, extends its wings and
tail, hisses and clacks its mandibles with force and rapidity. [414] So
do other kinds of owls. Hawks, as I am informed by Mr. Jenner Weir,
likewise ruffle their feathers, and spread out their wings and tail
under similar circumstances. Some kinds of parrots erect their
feathers; and I have seen this action in the Cassowary, when angered at
the sight of an Ant-eater. Young cuckoos in the nest, raise their
feathers, open their mouths widely, and make themselves as frightful as
possible.
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