382 Townsend, Courtship in Birds. [july 



suiting from any excessive excitement, that they are not confined 

 solely to courtship and do not in any way influence the female." 

 The fact that the brilliantly arrayed male Argus Pheasant and the 

 dull-colored Savin's Warbler both spread out and raise their wings 

 and tails during courtship seem to Howard a strong argument 

 against sexual selection. 



Pycraft 1 says, "In these pages it is contended that neither 

 brilliant coloration nor any other form of ornamentation is to be 

 ascribed to the direct action of 'sexual selection.' That is to say 

 such conspicuous features have not been dependent on the action 

 of formal choice for their survival and development, but are rather 

 the 'expression points' of the internal, inherent growth variations, 

 which, not being inimical to the welfare of the species, have been 

 free to pursue their development in any direction which apparent 

 chance may dictate." In another place he says: "The frills 

 and furbelows" — crests, vivid hues, etc., can — "be traced to the 

 stimulating action of the 'hormones' which control both pig- 

 mentation and structure, as is shown by the fact that both are 

 modified by any interference with the glands in question. Such 

 ornamental features then are the concomitants, not the results, of 

 sexual selection," and again "sexual selection, other things being 

 equal, operates by according the greatest number of descendants 

 to the most amorous and not necessarily to those of the highest 

 hues." He is therefore willing to admit that amorous behavior 

 by song and dance and display of plumage influence and attract 

 the female but he objects to the bold statement that she selects 

 the male. Such mental qualifications satisfy those who would 

 cast aside Darwin's theory of sexual selection, but after all is said 

 this theory, if not taken too literally, explains the facts better 

 than any other. It is not necessary to assume that the female 

 critically examines the display of color, dance or song of the rivals 

 and balances them in her mind, but if we admit, as Pycraft is willing 

 to do, that she is attracted and influenced by these, even if only 

 in a reflex or sub-conscious way, we have practically admitted 

 the truth of Darwin's theory. The fittest male in any or all of 

 these respects will be more likely to perpetuate the race. 



1 Courtship of Animals. 



