Protective Coloration in its relation to Mimicry, etc. 567 



patterned ; beach animals, beach-patterned, etc., through 

 the whole animal kingdom. But this other obvious case 

 has escaped them. What other equal hope were there for 

 insects that feed in full sunlight on masses of bright 

 flowers ? 



In another paper I shall extend this criticism on the 

 animal-conspicuousness-theory to the field of birds, and to 

 strengthen the present paper by showing reasons to sus- 

 pect that this theory is also not well intrenched in the 

 bird part of its field, I append the following examples of 

 the material to be used in the next paper. 



Several of the most apparently conspicuous details of 

 the exteriors of male birds can be shown to be such as 

 would aid them to escape their enemie's, and it is plain 

 that simple life-preservation must for ever take precedence 

 in the scale of importance of animals' needs. It is a mild 

 statement to say that if the animal kingdom is to survive, 

 females have greater need of the mere existence of mates 

 than of any particular attribute in them, and if this state- 

 ment is true, in all its immense import, it is among the 

 most primitive needs of the male, that we should search 

 for the explanation of his present attributes. All the 

 nuptial developments, either of feathers or fleshy growths 

 on beaks, etc., are much more rationally explicable along 

 the simple lines of utility, than those of direct Sexual 

 Selection, since it is apparent that every appendage, and 

 every brilliancy of colour or costume adds to the formid- 

 ableness of a warrior's aspect. One male conquers another 

 partly through overawing him by superior splendour, 

 and actually looking larger by means of his appendages, 

 and when these gaudy-feathered braves flaunt before their 

 females, why are they not presumably appealing to the 

 females' love of a good fighter, — a sentiment so dominant, 

 even in the human race, — and a simple sense of what con- 

 stitutes a husband full-equipped for the rough work 

 devolving on all feudal lords ? In fact, from which end 

 of the animal scale is this human sentiment traceable ? 

 If from the lower, as seems obvious, it must exist there. 

 I believe that a material need for any existing thing will 

 always be found to precede the spiritual, just as simply as 

 a man must catch before he can cat, and will then think. 



These arguments suggest, at least, that the nuptial 

 superficial developments are for the direct use of the male 

 who wears them. Let us look at the iridescent splendours 



