cases the birds were allowed to range freely over large ponds, and
there is no reason to suppose that they were unnaturally stimulated by
high feeding.
With respect to birds in a state of nature, the first and most obvious
supposition which will occur to every one is that the female at the
proper season accepts the first male whom she may encounter; but she
has at least the opportunity for exerting a choice, as she is almost
invariably pursued by many males. Audubon and we must remember that he
spent a long life in prowling about the forests of the United States
and observing the birds does not doubt that the female deliberately
chooses her mate; thus, speaking of a woodpecker, he says the hen is
followed by half-a-dozen gay suitors, who continue performing strange
antics, until a marked preference is shewn for one. The female of the
red-winged starling (Agelaeus phoeniceus) is likewise pursued by
several males, until, becoming fatigued, she alights, receives their
addresses, and soon makes a choice. He describes also how several male
night-jars repeatedly plunge through the air with astonishing rapidity,
suddenly turning, and thus making a singular noise; but no sooner has
the female made her choice than the other males are driven away. With
one of the vultures (Cathartes aura) of the United States, parties of
eight, ten, or more males and females assemble on fallen logs,
exhibiting the strongest desire to please mutually, and after many
caresses, each male leads off his partner on the wing. Audubon likewise
carefully observed the wild flocks of Canada geese (Anser canadensis),
and gives a graphic description of their love-antics; he says that the
birds which had been previously mated renewed their courtship as early
as the month of January, while the others would be contending or
coquetting for hours every day, until all seemed satisfied with the
choice they had made, after which, although they remained together, any
person could easily perceive that they were careful to keep in pairs. I
have observed also that the older the birds the shorter were the
preliminaries of their courtship. The bachelors and old maids whether
in regret, or not caring to be disturbed by the bustle, quietly moved
aside and lay down at some distance from the rest. (20. Audubon,
Ornithological Biography, vol. i. pp. 191, 349; vol. ii. pp. 42, 275;
vol. iii. p. 2.) Many similar statements with respect to other birds
could be cited from this same observer.
Turning now to domesticated and confined birds, I will commence by
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