SEXUAL SELECTION 347 



if any, variation. It is significant, in this connection, to note 

 that the Indian and Javan Peacocks, while they resemble one 

 another precisely in the matter of the train, they differ one 

 from another in the shape of the head-crest and in the form of 

 the feathers of the neck, those in the Javan bird being of un- 

 usually large size, overlapping one another like great scales, 

 while in the Indian bird they are of a uniform colour, and so soft 

 in texture as to lose their individuality, giving the neck a uni- 

 formly bottle-green appearance. 



Much more weighty objections have been urged recently 

 by Mr. H. Eliot Howard, who has shown, in his remarkable 

 History of the British Warblers, that these birds of sober hues 

 perform, during moments of sexual exaltation, antics which in 

 every way reflect the displays supposed to be peculiar to birds 

 of brilliant plumage. As a case in point he takes Savi's Warbler 

 {Locustella luscinioides) which during its moments of sexual 

 ecstasy in the presence of the female spreads out both wings and 

 tail, waving the latter up and down, but neither wings nor tail 

 contain any conspicuous markings or colour, while these feathers 

 in the Argus Pheasant are among the most wonderful among 

 birds. But not only when courting does this little Warbler 

 display after this fashion. He performs also when feeding 

 the fully fledged young. Now it is assumed, this author re- 

 marks, that the resplendent feathers of the Argus Pheasant have 

 been evolved by the selective action of the females, which, during 

 long ages, have persistently chosen to mate only with the more 

 vividly coloured of her suitors. Thus, by slow degrees the 

 splendour of this bird has been built up. Mr. Howard, how- 

 ever, doubts the correctness of this interpretation, since pre- 

 cisely similar performances are associated with the courtship 

 of the sober-hued Warblers; and further, as he points out, these 

 antics are not confined to the period of courtship. 



That there is much force in this contention must be ad- 

 mitted ; and to this point we shall return presently. For the 

 moment a few other cases may be mentioned. There can be no 

 dispute but that all birds, whether of bright hues or of sombre 

 shades, perform what we may call " antics " of some sort 

 whenever greatly excited, and especially during the periods of 

 sexual activity. No better example of this could be cited than 

 that of the Common Sparrow, whose ludicrous caperings must 



