OCR Text |
Show !)(:) SEXUAL SELECTION : lllRDS. PART II. differently, exhibiting Lefore the female his brilliantlyspotted breast and scarlet rump and scarlet upper tailcoverts. I may here add from Dr. J erdon, that the Indian Bulbul (Pycnonotus luemo?·?·hous) has crimson 'under tail-coverts, and the beauty of these feathers, it might be thonght, could never be well exhibited ; but the bird "when excited often spreads them out laterally, "so that they can be seen even· from above." 87 The common pigeon has iridescent feathers on the breast, and every one must have seen bow tho malo inflates his breast whilst courting tho female, thus showing off these feathers to the best advantage. One of the beautiful bronze-winged pigeons of Australia (Ocyphaps lophotes) behaves, as describecl to me by Mr. \Veir, yery differently: the male, whilst stant1ing before the female, lowers his head almost to tho ground, spreads out and raises perpendicularly his ta,il, and half expands his wings. He then alternately and slowly raises and depresses his body, so that the iridescent metallic feathers are all seen at once, aml glitter in the sun. Sufficient facts have now been given to shew with what care male birds display their various charms, and this they do with the utmost skill. ·whilst preening their feathers, they have frequent opportunities for admiring themselves and of studying how best to exhibit their beauty. But as all the males of the same species. display themselves in exactly the same manner, it appears that actions, at first perhaps intentional, have become instinctive. If so, we ought not to accuse birds of conscious vanity; yet when we see a peacock strutting about, with expanded and quivering tail-feathers, he seems the very emblem of pride and vanity. rrhe various ornaments possessed by the males are S7 'Dinls of India,' vol. ii. p. DG. CIIAP. XII[, DISPLAY BY THE MAT' E . !)- certainly of the hi . . I havr• been acquire~I~e:t s~:portance to them, for they greatly impeded p . . f ~ cases at the expense of Af · OWeiS 0 fbO'ht f . ncan nioo· ht-J·a r (rvvo smetorn~s. )b ho ·r ho runnin(~)-'> ' Th e mg-~cnson 1Jas one of 't ,· ' w rc. during the pair-loped into a streamer ~f s e pnt·mary wmg-feathers deve-retard cc1 m· I·t s flight alth x Ierne length · h 1 ' Is t us much able for its swift~c;s. T~~eg ~'at o~hcr times remarksecondary wing-feathers of unwieldy size" of the ~re said "almost entirely to the ~ale Argus pheasant The fine plumes of In"J . n· dcleprive the Lird of flight" d · « e Ir s of P a · · urmg a high wind 11h ara rse trouble them of tl Ie male widow-·b irds e( Vex'dt rem eI y 1o ng tar.l -feathers render "their flight heav . } ~a) of Southern Africa ~ast off they fly as well as ~b ii ut ts soon as these are reed when food is abund e t ema es. As birds always not suffer much . .an ,, the males probably d f mconvemenc · o rom their impeded e m searching for food h ·dl b powers of move t b ai y c a doubt that th men ; ut there can to be struck down by b. ·dey fmust be much more liable that the lono- train otths o prey. Nor can we doubt and wing-feacllers of the ~/:acock and the long tail them a more eas Y p1. ey to ang y s pheasant must rend . 1. . e1 would otherwise be tl prow mg tiger-cat than f 10 case E h o many male birds cannot £ 'I ven t e bright colours ?uous to their enemies of all :~ dto make them conspi- 1s, as Mr. Gould has 1' m s. Hence it probabl generally of a shy di' ~mt. arked, that such birds ar·ye be auty was a source oSfp dO Sl lOll ' a 'f · < s I conscwus that their· l ano·er a d cu t to discover or· o ' n are much more diffi d approach th th - an comparatively ta fi ' an e sombre-coloUl'ecl and as yet unadorned :::los~:ales, or than the young s~' On tho Cosmotomis ' .. best, 1865, p. 6G. On tl ' se~ J,tnngstone's 'Expedition t r. VOL . II• tC Aigus pheasant,. Jnrd't no ' s 'Na t. oI lt•.IsJtc. LZaibm.-: H |