248 A THEOEY OF STUDS' NESTS. 



to the other. Several very close observers of the 

 habits of animals have assured me, that male birds and 

 quadrupeds do often take very strong likes and dis- 

 likes to individual females, and we can hardly believe 

 that the one sex (the female) can have a general taste 

 for colour while the other has no such taste. How- 

 ever this may be, the fact remains, that in a vast 

 number of cases the female acquires as brilliant and 

 as varied colours as the male, and therefore most pro- 

 bably acquires them in the same way as the male does ; 

 that is, either because the colour is useful to it, or is 

 correlated with some useful variation, or is pleasing to 

 the other sex. The only remaining supposition is that 

 it is transmitted from the other sex, without being ot 

 any use. From the number of examples above adduced 

 of bright colours in the female, this would imply that 

 colour-characters acquired by one sex are generally 

 (but not necessarily) transmitted to the other. If this 

 be the case it will, I think, enable us to explain the 

 phenomena, even if we do not admit that the male 

 bird is ever influenced in the choice of a mate by her 

 more gay or perfect plumage. 



The female bird, while sitting on her eggs in an 

 uncovered nest, is much exposed to the attacks of 

 enemies, and any modification of colour which ren- 

 dered her more conspicuous would often lead to her 

 destruction and that of her offspring. All variations 

 of colour in this direction in the female, would there- 

 fore sooner or later be eliminated, while such modifi- 

 cations as rendered her inconspicuous, by assimilating 



