Ruff

Ugh. I'm so ashamed of this bird. He is hurried and deflated and nowhere near as refined and elegant as the model. He should look more like an aristocrat looking down his long nose at us peasant viewers.

The ruff is a strange bird. Apparently, the male birds start growing extra large head and neck feathers right around mating time. And the ruff can vary greatly in color and shape, so no two birds look the same. After the spring is over, and baby birds are everywhere, the male ruffs lose their namesake ruffs, and they look just as plain and boring as the females.