Chap. XVI. THE YOUNG LIKE THE ADULT FEMALES. 195 



differs slightly from the female in his more strongly- 

 pronounced red and brown tints/" we may concdude 

 that his plumage has been, at least to a certain extent, 

 influenced by sexual selection. If so, we may further 

 infer that the nearly similar plumage of the female 

 black-grouse was similarly produced at some former 

 period. But since this period the male black-grouse 

 has acquired his fine black plumage, with his forked and 

 outwardly-curled tail-feathers ; but of these characters 

 there has hardly been any transference to the female, 

 excepting that she shews in her tail a trace of the curved 

 fork. 



We may therefore conclude that the females of dis- 

 tinct though allied species have often had their plumage 

 rendered more or less different by the transference in 

 various degrees, of characters acquired, both during 

 former and recent times, by the males through sexual 

 selection. But it deserves especial attention that 

 brilliant colours have been transferred much more 

 rarely than other tints. For instance, the male of 

 the red-throated bluebreast {Cyanecula suecica) has 

 a rich blue breast, including a sub-triangular red 

 mark ; now marks of approximately the same shape 

 have been transferred to the female, but the central 

 space is fulvous instead of red, and is surrounded by 

 mottled instead of blue feathers. The Gallinacese offer 

 many analogous cases ; for none of the species, such as 

 partridges, quails, guinea-fowls, &c., in which the colours 

 of tlie plumage have been largely transferred from the 

 male to the female, are brilliantly coloured. This is 

 well exemplified with the pheasants, in which the male 

 is generally so much more brilliant than the female ; 

 but with the Eared and Cheer pheasants {Crossojofiloii 



»<■ Macgillivray, 'Hist. British Birds,' vol. i. p. 172-174. 



O 2 



