We will now turn to male birds which are not ornamented in any high
degree, but which nevertheless display during their courtship whatever
attractions they may possess. These cases are in some respects more
curious than the foregoing, and have been but little noticed. I owe the
following facts to Mr. Weir, who has long kept confined birds of many
kinds, including all the British Fringillidae and Emberizidae. The
facts have been selected from a large body of valuable notes kindly
sent me by him. The bullfinch makes his advances in front of the
female, and then puffs out his breast, so that many more of the crimson
feathers are seen at once than otherwise would be the case. At the same
time he twists and bows his black tail from side to side in a ludicrous
manner. The male chaffinch also stands in front of the female, thus
shewing his red breast and blue bell, as the fanciers call his head;
the wings at the same time being slightly expanded, with the pure white
bands on the shoulders thus rendered conspicuous. The common linnet
distends his rosy breast, slightly expands his brown wings and tail, so
as to make the best of them by exhibiting their white edgings. We must,
however, be cautious in concluding that the wings are spread out solely
for display, as some birds do so whose wings are not beautiful. This is
the case with the domestic cock, but it is always the wing on the side
opposite to the female which is expanded, and at the same time scraped
on the ground. The male goldfinch behaves differently from all other
finches: his wings are beautiful, the shoulders being black, with the
dark-tipped wing-feathers spotted with white and edged with golden
yellow. When he courts the female, he sways his body from side to side,
and quickly turns his slightly expanded wings first to one side, then
to the other, with a golden flashing effect. Mr. Weir informs me that
no other British finch turns thus from side to side during his
courtship, not even the closely-allied male siskin, for he would not
thus add to his beauty.
Most of the British Buntings are plain coloured birds; but in the
spring the feathers on the head of the male reed-bunting (Emberiza
schoeniculus) acquire a fine black colour by the abrasion of the dusky
tips; and these are erected during the act of courtship. Mr. Weir has
kept two species of Amadina from Australia: the A. castanotis is a very
small and chastely coloured finch, with a dark tail, white rump, and
jet-black upper tail-coverts, each of the latter being marked with
three large conspicuous oval spots of white. (91. For the description
422