A GAY DECEIVER 205 



cuckoo in placing its egg in the drongo's nest. Suppose 

 an ass were to borrow the caudal appendage of the 

 king of the forest, pin it on behind him, and then 

 advance among his fellows with loud brays, would any 

 donkey of average intelligence be misled by the feeble 

 attempt at disguise ? I think not. Much less would a 

 king-crow be deceived by a few black feathers in the 

 plumage of a cuckoo. 



I do not believe that natural selection has any direct 

 connection with the nigritude of the drongo cuckoo. It 

 is my opinion that, so far as the struggle for existence is 

 concerned, it matters little to an animal what its colour 

 be. Every creature has to be some colour : what that 

 actual colour is must depend upon a great many factors ; 

 among these we may name the metabolic changes that 

 go on inside the animal, its hereditary tendencies, 

 sexual selection, and natural selection. Is it natural 

 selection that has caused the king-crow to be black ? I 

 trow not. 



The drongo is black because it is built that way ; its 

 tendency is to produce black feathers. Just as some 

 men tend to put on flesh, so also some species of birds 

 tend to grow black plumage. In the case of the king- 

 crow sexual selection has possibly contributed to the 

 bird's nigritude. It is possible that black is a colour 

 that appeals to king-crow ladies. " So neat, you know ; 

 a bird always looks well in black, and a forked tail gives 

 him such an air of distinction." 



As the hen drongo is a bird capable of looking after 

 herself, even when incubating, there is no necessity for 

 her to be protectively coloured. As I have repeatedly 



