Democratic Sentinel, Volume 12, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 June 1888 — Odd Antics of Birds. [ARTICLE]

Odd Antics of Birds.

A. relative of mine had a large marsh upon his estate, and here the great cranes u\ade their summer home, building their curious nests there and reiu* ing their young, says Prof. Holder in the San Francisco Call. The marsh was surrounded by high grass, and it was his practice to creep through and watch the birds unobserved. The antics they went through it would be incpossible to describe —now they would caper along in pairs, stepping daintily with the mincing gai> of the ide 1 exquisite, iifting their feathers or wings, taking short steps, and gradually working themselves up to a bird fr nz.y of excitement, when they would leap into the air and over each other’s backs, taking short runs this way and that, all for ttie edification of the femub's s-;oid-feg by, and finally, after a series of these exhibitions. the different b rds selected their mates. Among the birds of the western hemisphere the cock of the rock ranks next to the crane in the strangeness of its evolutions. The bird is confined to South Amerca, and is about the size of a smaj pigeon, has a bright orange web ia the male, with a plume-like arrange* ment upon the head. It is a pro.if bird, principally building its nest ,n rocky places not visited by man. At the commencement of the breeding season, a party of birds, numbering from ten to twenty, assemble, and selecting a clear space among the rocks, form a ring or circle, facing inward. Now a small bud takes its place in the center, and beg ns to hop about, toss its head, lift its wings, and go through all the strange movements possible, that appear to be watched with great interest by all the rest. When the performer ib thoroughly exhausted he retires to the circle and another bird enters the ring, and so on, until all have been put through their paces, when the pairs probably make their selection. Often the birds are so exhausted after the danoes that they can hardly fly, lying panting on the rocks. Near Hie bordt rs of Southern California is found a bii d, called the sunate, that hag a strange courtship. It is about the size of a magpie. During the mating season four or fivs birds collect together and seem to vie with each, other in the extravagance of the r posturing—wooing new in rows, now •ingle, in a regular dance, and, by way <?* musio, uttering loud, discordant squawks. Their long laile are lifted high in the air during this perform* •nee and their entire behavior is pw mskable in th* extreme