Show The Dances of Birds Legs before wings seems a strange choice for a bird in a critical contest That many possessors of wings kings of the nlr depend upon their legs for winning a mate Is an inexplicable freak of that most eccentric period In the lives of man and beast courtship days Yet dancing is not an uncommon uncom-mon bird accomplishment Our Western West-ern prairie hen Is a wellknown dancer I The sandhill crane finds his long legs I especially convenient for tripping the I light fantastic toe The solemn mat teroffact flicker or goldenwinged I woodpecker Indulges In a remarkable performance as stately as the minuet No feath of our greatgrandparents ered dancer Is more graceful and spirited spir-ited than our own mocking bird StandIng Stand-Ing opposite each other for both birds take part In It the pair move from side to side chasselng with mincing steps turning partners and quite comically emulating the ballroom ma neuers we arc familiar with In one case after various evolutions all inmost in-most dignified manner the dance came to an end with a striking figure one of the pair with ho apparent use of the wings suddenly leaping over the head of his vlsavls who as promptly wheeled and presented a face to his eccentric ec-centric partner when he touched the ground Colliers Weekly |