AESTHETIC FEELING IN BIRDS. 659 



lappets of the gallinaceous birds ; the beaks of toucans, hornbills, and 

 cassowaries ; the wonderful marking of the peacock and the Argus- 

 pheasant. Any one who wishes really to understand the immense va- 

 riety of ornamentation which has thus resulted should pay a visit to the 

 ornithological rooms in the British Museum, and observe the innumer- 

 able devices for attracting attention which exist in almost every order 

 of birds. Perhaps the familiar lyre-bird offers the very finest example 

 of all, so far as beauty of form and symmetry of arrangement are 

 concerned. It is specially noticeable, however, that in almost every 

 case the decorations are lavished on the very same parts on which they 

 would have been bestowed by human taste. 



If, then, we put together all the scattered indications thus afforded 

 us, if we consider the taste for sweet food and delicate perfumes, the 

 song of the nightingale and the gi-acef ul movements of the swan, the 

 metallic colors of the flower-feeders, the exquisite hues of the fruit- 

 eaters, the varied plumage of the birds-of-paradise, the beautiful nests 

 and bowers, the habit of abstracting brilliant objects, the universal 

 loveliness of shape or tint throughout the whole class we can hardly 

 doubt that birds, as a whole, possess aesthetic endowments of a very 

 high order. Let us proceed to consider the general bearings of these 

 views upon the question of sexual selection. 



Mr. Herbert Spencer, in a very remarkable essay upon personal 

 beauty, has shown that in the human race we regard as beautiful, on 

 the whole, just those personal peculiarities which are, roughly speak- 

 ing, the external marks of fitness for the conditions of human life. 

 More especially do we admire those points which bespeak a physique 

 adapted for the duties of paternity and maternity. We dislike exces- 

 sive leanness or excessive fat ; a sallow or a bloated complexion ; de- 

 formity or extreme departure from the normal type. On the other 

 hand, we like in man robust and muscular limbs, an erect carriage, an 

 open chest, a virile development of beard and whiskers, with all the 

 other outward signs of health and strength. We like in woman a 

 womanly and tender face, a fine and well-developed figure, and all the 

 other outward signs of health, and more especially of healthy mater- 

 nal capacities. We like in both sexes an abundant crop of hair, clear 

 and bright eyes, white and well-set teeth, red lips, and cheeks which 

 show a good and sound circulation ; we like an expression which be- 

 tokens good humor, moral qualities, and refinement ; lastly, we like a 

 face which indicates intellectual power and ability to succeed in the 

 highly complex struggle for life in the midst of which our lot is cast. 

 One or other of these points we may occasionally waive in considera- 

 tion of other special claims ; but if anybody asks in the abstract 

 whether we prefer a stunted physique to well-grown limbs and mus- 

 cles ; a flat-chested woman to one with a finely-proportioned bust 

 unhealthy and sallow skin to a clear complexion ; a sour-looking, mean, 

 or brutal face to a bright, joyous, open, and honest countenance ; silly 



