THE NATURALIST. "PUTTING ON FRILLS."

Otago Witness, Issue 2685, 30 August 1905, Page 68

THE NATURALIST.

"PUTTING ON FRILLS."

By Fkank Finn, 8.A., F.Z.S., in th© Countryside

THE EXTRAORDINARY" EFFECTS OF ANIMAL EMOTIONS.

There, are few subjects in natural history more interesting than tho power which I many animals possess cf mckjenly altering I their appearance, to the end cither of terri- | lying an enemy or conciliating the fair j f-'cx of their own species. In many, perhaps I in most, cases tho attitade assumed is the ! sctme O" nearly so, for it must be borne j in mind that the creature is in all probaI bility usually quite unconscious of any dej liberate intension, Io produce an effect, and 1 is merely in'Sbinctively employing the natuJ ral m^ans of expressing emotion which is an attribute of its particular species. ! Kuffs and frills about the neck are natu- ! rally particularly well calculated to produce i a striking altera'ion in appearance whe-.i suddenly expaud-ed, and it is therefore not I -Burprising to find many animals decorated with these, and these cf the most divers© cl?.ssc-s. Among the beasts, we have tho mane in tho lion and the peruke of some baboons; and these serve a double purpose, as they not only increase the apparent size of the animal when bristled xip, but are apt to baulk an, adversary :>f a throat-hold with, the fangs. Very poss-'bly the beard_ of nan has iho same significance, for primitive man certainly did not fight according 10 Queensberry rules, but in all probability {lew at his enemy's throat like a modern monkey. Of course, all races of men havo not beards, but neither have all animals frills, in spite of the manifest advantages of the decoration; natural selection has to work on the variations which come ready to hand, and cannot produce a structure just because it would be useful. Reptiles are particularly addicted to endeavouring to make themselves as horrible as possible to the eye when enraged, but only a few species have a neck decoration, to exhibit 011 suoh occasions. The flat, horizontal expansion forming the hood of the cobras is well known, and many lizards and snakes can expand their throats vertically, but the frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurug Hngi) of Australia alone rejoices in a perfect Elizabethan ruff for use as a warmask. When noh in use, this remarkable appendage lies folded along the sides of the neck, but if the reptile be alarmed, it is widely spread, and tho mouth being opened at the same time, produces a tout ensemble so -uncanny that, as Mr SavileKent tells na, it will dat&r a dog, which will fearlessly tackle the larger and reallymore formidable monitor-lizards. It is not only that the ruff increases the apparent size" of the creature, but it is also very brilliantly coloured in red and yellow, while Iho inside of the moufch is altogether of the latter colotn 1.

It is just as well for ihe Wizard that it is able thuis to impose on enemies, for it i-j by no means a powerfully-armed reptile, and is far more given to making tbes& grimaces than actually fighting.

A parallel case is found amongf birds in the so-called painted snipe (Rostratula ca_peiisis) of tlie- Old World tropics. This bird, a highly-coloured eandpiper rather than a snipe, seems to have no idea of really fighting, but attempts to terrify an enemy by the display of its beautifullyspotted quills, which are concealed in repose, accompanying the exhibition by a, fcrmidable-sounding hiss. This has been sc+'"'llv r«een to •"rirrVv.r. c "io s">~al! creatures, and no doubt disconcerts larger ones ioag eiiou,jh to a io ,v lrauu to ascape attacks to which it would c^Rerwiso fall a victim, for it has not the swift dodging flight of tho true snipes

Another member of the sandpiper fanr'ly, and that a British bird, the ruff (Pavoncella pugnnx), has a ruff very similar in outline to that of the frilled lizard. In the ordinary way it lies clcs-3 io tho bird's neck, as shown in the black-ruffed specimen (the ruff, ns is well known, varies very much in. colour), but when courting or fighting it is spread out widely. When paying hig addresses to his consort the reeve, tho ruff affects tho greatest humility, and crouches down even to the ground when at full sLow. When fighting, however, he assiunes much tho same position, except that ho does nof crouch so much, and points hia bill forward. His aim is then to seize Ids foe with his bill and, with a spring, to slap him with his wing, for the contests o£ ruffs are mere boxing matches, and the vanquished is- merely driven off tho field, nofj hurt. The frill can here be of no advantage to the fighting birds, as it merely gives a better hold for the bill, and it cannot be needed as a shield, as the ruffs bill is too blunt and weak to do any damage, the real weapon being the wing. Similarly, it may be noted that the hackled ruff of the common rooster is such a convenient handle for opponents that cock-fighters used to cut it off when preparing their birds for tho pit.

It would seem, then, that frills in som© birds are essentially of use in courtship, and they are certainly widely distributed in the class, though only sporadically as a rule. Among parrots, the hawk-headed parrot, (Deroptyus aocipitrinus) and salmon-crested cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis) alone have them ; with the ducks, a ruff is part of tho insignia of tho mandarin (Aex galericulata) only ; and in the pheasant family, the only ruffed species besides the fowls are the gold) and Amherst pheasants. These splendid creatures make a very peculiar tree of their ruff, expanding it to one side, and shifting it to the other, as the hen which they are courting dodges them. But they also, like the* fowl, show their ruffs when about to fight, which they are always ready to do. Thus, until it is more definitely proved that hen-birds really do select their mates according to beaiity, the question must remain open whether, oven among the birds, tho beautiful plumes and attitudes we ad j mire so much are not really in many casea pimply the further development of tli9 goblin war equipment of their coarser rclav» lives, the reptiles.