ON THE SEX OF HYBRID BIRDS. 



MICHAEL F. GUYER, 

 UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI. 



In a former paper 1 I have noted the difficulty of obtaining 

 female hybrids from pigeons or doves of widely different parent- 

 age. Of the seven hybrid offspring of very distinct species then 

 in hand, six were male. Since that time, through the courtesy of 

 the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris and the Museum of 

 Natural History in London, I have had the opportunity of exam- 

 ining a number of different hybrids in the family Phasianidse and 

 among them also I have found a remarkable predominance of 

 males. In the following tabulations the sex of each hybrid, when 

 known, and the parentage, is given, together with the date the 

 individual was placed in the museum. It has been impossible to 

 give the specific name always because a number of the specimens 

 bore only the popular names. The letters placed after the year 

 of accession indicate the respective locations of the specimen in 

 question; thus, B =: British Museum (Museum of Natural His- 

 tory) ; P = Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris ; C = Museum, 

 University of Cincinnati. 



GUINEA-FOWL X CHICKEN. 



Sex. Date and Location. 



Guinea-fowl X common fowl = ? 1902 B. 



Guinea-fowl X common fowl = $ 1899 B. 



Pintade X Poule = ? 1854 P. 



Black Langshang Cock X Guinea-hen = $ 1903 C. 



Black Langshang Cock X Guinea-hen = <$ 1903 C. 



Black Langshang Cock X Guinea-hen = <$ 1903 C. 



Black Langshang Cock X Guinea-hen = $ 1908 C. 



Black Langshang Cock X Guinea-hen 1909 C. 



Thus, of eight guinea-chicken hybrids, the sex is known in six 

 cases and it is invariably male. 



1 Guyer, M. F., " Spermatogenesis of Normal and of Hybrid Pigeons," 

 Dissertation, University of Chicago, 1900. Also published as Bui. 22, Uni- 

 versity of Cincinnati, 1903. 



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