248 



The Descent of Man, 



Pakt II. 



that in Scandinavia the broods of the capercailzie and black-cock 

 contain more males than females ; and that with the Dal-ripa (a kind 

 of ptarmigan) more males than females attend the lelcs or places of 

 courtship; but this latter circumstance is accounted for by some 

 observers by a greater number of hen birds being killed by vermin. 

 From various facts given by White of Selborne, 64 it seems clear that 

 the males of the partridge must be in considerable excess in the south 

 of England; ami I have been assured that this is the case in Scotland. 

 Mr. Weir on enquiring from the dealers, who receive at certain seasons 

 large numbers of rufl's (Machetes pugnax), was told that the males are 

 much the more numerous. This same naturalist has also enquired for 

 me from the birdcatchers, who annually catch an astonishing number 

 of various small species alive for the London market, and he was un- 

 hesitatingly answered by an old and trustworthy man, that with the 

 chaffinch the males are in large excess; he thought as high as 2 males to 

 1 female, or at least as high as 5 to 3. 65 The males of the blackbird, 

 he likewise maintained, were by far the more numerous, whether 

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

 apparently be trusted, because this 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 l.e 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 net begin till Sept ember, so that with some species partial 

 migrations may have begun, and the flocks at this period often consist 

 of hens alone. Mr. Sulvin 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 only 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 

 Campylopterus hemileucurus were to the females as 5 to 2, and on 

 another occasion 6 * 3 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 ap] earing greatly to exceed the female in number." 67 So 

 again with the Quiscalus major, Mr. G. Taylor 68 says, that in Florida 

 i here 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 polyganiLt. 



64 'Nat. Hist, of Selborne,' letter 

 xxix. edit, of 1825, vol. i. p. 139. 



65 Mr. Jenner Weir received 

 similar information, on making en- 

 quiries during the following year. 

 To shew the number of living chaf- 

 finches 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. 



66 ' Ibis,' vol. ii. p. 260, as quoted 

 in Gould's ' Trcchilidae,' 1861, p. 

 52. For the foregoing proportions, 

 I am indebted to Mr. Salvin for z 

 table of his results. 



67 'Ibis,' 1860, p. 137; and 18S7 

 p. 369. 



68 'Ibis,' 1862, p. 137 



