Chap. VIII. SEXUAL SELECTION. 307 



1 female, or at least as high as 5 to 3. 47 The males of the black- 

 bird, he likewise maintained, were by far the most numerous, whe- 

 ther caught by traps or by netting at night. These statements 

 may apparently be trusted, because the same man said that the 

 sexes are about equal with the lark, the twite (Linaria montana), 

 and goldfinch. On the other hand he is certain that with the 

 common linnet, the females preponderate greatly, but unequally 

 during different years ; during some years he has found the females 

 to the males as four to one. It should, however, be borne in mind, 

 that the chief season for catching birds does not begin till Sep- 

 tember, so that with some species partial migrations may have begun, 

 and the flocks at this period often consist of hens alone. Mr. Salvin 

 paid particular attention to the sexes of the humming-birds in 

 Central America, and he is convinced that with most of the species 

 the males are in excess ; thus one year he procured 204 specimens 

 belonging to ten species, and these consisted of 166 males and of 

 38 females. With two other species the females were in excess : 

 but the proportions apparently vary either during different seasons 

 or in different localities ; for on one occasion the males of Cam- 

 pylopterus hemileucurus were to the females as five to two, and 

 on another occasion 48 in exactly the reversed ratio. As bearing on 

 this latter point, I may add, that Mr. Powys found in Corfu and 

 Epirus the sexes of the chaffinch keeping apart, and "the females 

 " by far the most numerous ;" whilst in Palestine Mr. Tristram 

 found " the male flocks appearing greatly to exceed the female in 

 "number." 49 So again with the Quiscalus major, Mr. Gr. Taylor 50 

 says, that in Florida there were " very few females in proportion to 

 " the males," whilst in Honduras the proportion was the other way, 

 the species there having the character of a polygamist. 



FISH. 



With Fish the proportional numbers of the sexes can be ascertained 

 only by catching them in the adult or nearly adult state; and there 



47 Mr. Jenner Weir received similar information, on making enquiries 

 during the following year. To shew the number of chaffinches caught, I 

 may mention that in 1869 there was a match., between two experts; and 

 one man caught in a day 62, and another 40, male chaffinches. The greatest 

 number ever caught by one man in a single day was 70. 

 ^ 18 'Ibis,' vol. ii. p. 260, as quoted in Gould's ' Trochilidac,' 1861, p. 52. 

 For the foregoing proportions, I am indebted to Mr. Salvin for a table of 

 his results. 



• ,9 'Ibis,' 1860, p. 137 ; and 1867, p. 369. 



50 ' Ibis,' 1862, p. 137. 



x 2 



