404 The Descent of Man. Part II 



" he has him entirely In his power. Even supposing that the 

 " bird is not killed, the loss of blood suffered by an undubbed 

 " cock is much greater than that sustained by one that has been 

 " trimmed." 94 Young turkey-cocks in fighting always seize hold 

 of sach other's wattles ; and I presume that the old birds fight in 

 the same manner. It may perhaps be objected that the comb 

 and wattles are not ornamental, and cannot be of service to the 

 birds in this way ; but even to our eyes, the beauty of the glossy 

 black Spanish cock is much enhanced by his white face and 

 crimson comb ; and no one who has ever seen the splendid blue 

 rattles of the male Tragopan pheasant, distended in courtship, 

 can for a moment doubt that beauty is the object gained. From 

 the foregoing facts we clearly see that the plumes and other 

 ornaments of the males must be of the highest importance to 

 them ; and we further see that beauty is even sometimes more 

 important than success in battle. 



CHAPTEE XI V . 



Birds— coiitinw-ft. 



Unoice exerted by the female — Length of courtship — Unpaired birds- — 

 Mental qualities and taste for the beautiful — Preference or antipathy 

 shewn by the female for particular males — Variability of birds — Varia- 

 tions sometimes abrupt — Laws of variation — Formation of ocelli — ■ 

 Gradations of character — Case of Peacock, Argus pheasant, and Urosticte. 



When the sexes differ in beauty, or in the power of singing, or 

 in producing what I have called instrumental music, it is almost 

 invariably the male who surpasses the female. These qualities, 

 as we have just seen, are evidently of high importance to the 

 male. When they are gained for only a part of the year it is 

 always before the breeding-season. It is the male alone who 

 elaborately displays his varied attractions, and often performs 

 strange antics on the ground or in the air, in the presence of the 

 female. Each male drives away, or if he can, kills his rivals. 

 Hence we may conclude, that it is the object of the male to induce 

 the female to pair with him, and for this purpose he tries to ex- 

 cite or charm her in various ways ; and this is the opinion of all 

 those who have carefully studied the habits of living birds. But 

 there remains a question which has an all-important bearing on 

 sexual selection, namely, does every male of the same species 

 excite and attract the female equally? Or does she exert a choice, 

 and prefer certain males ? This latter question can be answered 

 in the affirmative by much direct and indirect evidence. It is fax 



04 Tegetmeier, « The Poultry Book,' 1866, p. 139. 



