Photographic studies of some less familiar birds: C. Ruff

IN OUR AVIFAUNA the Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) is the most extreme example of a " l e k " b i r d ; a species which, like the Blackcock (Lyrurus tetrix) and many other gallinaceous birds, birds of paradise (Paradiseidae), Gould's Manakin (Manacus manacus) and others, has specialized in male communal displays, extreme sexual dimorphism, promiscuity without a pair-bond, and loss of all nestbuilding, inc...