THE SEXUAL SELECTION THEORY 153 



witnessed more than once by Mr. Huxley. On the par- 

 ticular occasion which he describes he was watching a 

 male swimming along near the reeds, apparently on the 

 look-out for something, and turning his eyes in the 

 direction of the course, he saw, at some distance oflp, 

 what he supposed was a dead grebe lying hunched up 

 in the water, with outstretched neck, and ruff and ears 

 depressed. Presently the male swam alongside the body 

 and bent down his head as if to examine it. Then he 

 swam to the tail end, and suddenly scrambled out of the 

 water on to the body ; and there, with bowed head and 

 depressed ears and crest, he seemed to stand a moment. 

 Then he waddled forward over its head and into the 

 water. Instantly the supposed corpse raised its head 

 and neck, gave a sort of jump, and was swimming by the 

 side of its mate. They had been pairing on a half-made 

 nest, whose surface lay level with the water. 



Mr. Edmund Selous seems to have witnessed some 

 almost incredible behaviour on the part of the owners 

 of a nest he had under observation, inasmuch as, on 

 more than one occasion, he declares the male lay prone 

 upon the nest and the female assumed the position of the 

 male. After this pantomime both would leave the nest, 

 but commonly the female would speedily return and 

 pairing would be duly performed. 



This brief summary of Mr. Huxley's observations, 

 which he was generous enough to give me the privilege of 

 seeing in manuscript, taken in conjunction wdth many 

 other facts of a like kind given in these pages, seems to 

 lend support to the view that an excessive amorousness 

 is commonly associated with conspicuous ornamentation, 

 as if these stood in the relation of cause and effect. 



Finally, it is contended, the facts garnered during 



