OCR Text |
Show g2 SEXUAL ELECTION: niRDS. p,mT ll. 11 such artisticall y-shadccl It may well be asked, cou c of sexual sclcc- 1 b formed by means ornaments Iave eon . t t defer gi\'ing an tion? But it will be. convc~~cn ·c ~reat in the next ' . to this qucstwn 1111 I '; ans" er . f . datwn chapter of the principle o gra ' ·h' h in most gallinaThe primary wing-feathers, w IC . . th~ Aro·us '£ . ly coloured, are m b ceous birds are um orm b' t than the secondary Pheasant not less wonderful o JeC~ sft brown tint with h Thev arc of a ::;O wing-feat ers. J ch of which consists of two Ol: numerous dark spots, ea d' dark zone. But three black d o t s WJ' th a' snrroun .m 11g 1 t'o the dark-bl ue . , t is a SI1aCC para e 1 . the chiCf ornamen ·feet second feat 1er · h · tline forms a, per t · shaft, whlC m ou h . This inner par Id lying within the true feat ei. ' l is thickly dotted f 1' htcr chesnut, anc l t coloured o a 1 g . I 1 e shewn this feat 1er o "'ith minute white pomts. 1 Iav dmired it even more several persons, ancl many lave a d have dec1 a rec L 11 d. ·ket feathers, an than the ba -an -soc 1 £' 't than of nature. . lil-c a wor .: o ar . that It was more '- ' . h. elden on all onlmary Now these feathers are qmte 11 h the lono· secon-f ll ]' p1ayec w en o occasionR, but are U y OS houo·h in a widely clifferent dary feathers are erected, t ellb . f'·ont like two little f. 1 ·e expan ec m 1 h manner ; or t ley m - 1 . 1 of the breast near t e fans or shields, one on eac 1 SIC e ground. ·o·us hcasant is eminently rl'he case of the male Arb p l 'deuce that tho b . t affords gooc evi interesting, ecause I ( a charm for the fi d b Jty may serve as d most re ne eal \Ve must. conclu o l .!' o other purpose. female, anc 10r 11 rimar wing-feathers arc that this is the case, as tl:~l-~nd-so~ket ornaments are never displayed, and the~ t' xcept when the male not exhibited in full per ec 1~, e The Arcrus pheasant assumes the attitude of courtls Ip. that his success in b ·illiant co ours, so . f does not possess I d ded on the great size o .courtship appears to have epen CrrAr. xur. DISPLAY 13Y TilE MALE. DS l1is plumes, and on the elaboration of the most elegant patterns. Many will declare that it is utterly i1~credible that a female bird should be able to appreCiate fine shadinn· and exquisite pattems. It is undoubtedly a marvellous fact that she should possess this almost human degree of taste, though perhaps she admires the general effect rather than each separate detail. He who thinks that he can safely gauge the discrimination and taste of the lower animals, may deny that the female Argus pheasant can appreciate such refined beauty; but l1e will then be compelled to admit that the extraordinary attitudes assumed by the male during tho act of courtship, by which the wonderful beauty of his plumage is fully displayed, are purposeless; and this is a conclusion which I for one will never admit. Although so many pheasants and allied gallinaceous birds carefully display their beautiful plumage before tho females, it is remarkable, as l\fr. Bartlett informs me that this is not the case with the dull-coloured Ea;.ed and Cheer pheasants (Orossoptilon auritMm and Phasianus fVallichii) ; so that these birds seem conscious that they have little beauty to display. Mr. Bartlett has never seen the males of either of these species fighting together, though he has not had such good opportunities for observing ~he Cheer as the Eared pheasant. Mr. Jenner '\V en·, also, finds that all male birds with rich or strongly-characterised plumage are more quarrelsome than the dull-coloured species belonging to the samo groups. 'rhe goldfinch, for instance, is far more pugnacious than the linnet, and the black-bird than the thrush. Those birds which undergo a seasonal change of plumage likewise become much more pugnacious at the period when they are most gaily ornamented. No doubt the males of some ob~curely-colourecl birds fight desperately |