120 SEXUAL SELECTION: BIRDS. Part II. 



"the hens haye frequently great preference to a par- 

 " ticular peacock. They were all so fond of an old pied 

 " cock, that one year, when he was confined though 

 " still in view, they were constantly assembled close 

 " to the trel lice- walls of his prison, and would not suffer 

 " a japanned peacock to touch them. On his being let 

 " out in the autumn, the oldest of the hens instantly 

 " courted him, and was successful in her courtship. 

 " The next year he was shut up in a stable, and then 

 " the hens all courted his rival." ^^ This rival was a 

 japanned or black-winged peacock, which to our eyes 

 is a more beautiful bird than the common kind. 



Lichtenstein, who was a good observer and had 

 excellent opportunities of observation at the Cape of 

 Good Hope, assured Rudolphi that the female widow- 

 bird {Cher a progne) disowns the male, when robbed of 

 the louir tail-feathers with which he is ornamented 

 during the breeding-season. I presume that this ob- 

 servation must have been made on birds under con- 

 finement.^^ Here is another striking case ; Dr. Jaeger,^' 

 director of the Zoological Gardens of Vienna, states 

 that a male silver-pheasant, who had been triumphant 

 over the other males and was the accepted lover of the 

 females, had his ornamental plumage spoiled. He 

 was then immediately superseded by a rival, who got 

 the upper hand and afterwards led the flock. 



Not only does the female exert a choice, but in some 

 few cases she courts the male, or even fights for his 

 possession. Sir K. Heron states that with peafowl, the 



25 ' Proc. Zool. Son.' 1835, p. 54. The japanned peacock is con- 

 sidered by Mr. Sclater as a distinct species, and has been named 

 Pavo nigripennis. 



"6 Eudolplii, ' Beytrage zur Anthropologie,' 1812, s. 184. 



2' 'Die Darwin'sche Theorie, und ihre Stellung zu Moral und 

 Pieligion,' 1869, s. 59. 



