496 THE DESCENT OF MAN. 



It should be particularly observed that each ocellus stands 

 in obvious connection either with a dark stripe or with a 

 longitudinal row of dark spots, for both occur indifferently 

 on the same feather. Thus in fig. 57 stripe A runs to 

 ocellus a; B runs to ocellus Z; stripe C is broken in the 

 upper part and runs down to the next succeeding ocellus, 

 not represented in the wood-cut; D to the next lower one, 

 and so with the stripes E and F. Lastly the several ocelli 

 are separated from each other by a pale surface bearing 

 irregular black marks. 



I will next describe the other extreme of the series, 

 namely, the first trace of an ocellus. The short secondary 

 wing-feather (fig. 58), nearest to the body, is marked like 

 the other feathers, with oblique, longitudinal, rather irreg- 

 ular rows of very dark spots. The basal spot, or that near- 

 est the shaft in the five lower rows (excluding the lowest 

 one), is a little larger than the other spots of the same row, 

 and a little more elongated in a transverse direction. It 

 differs also from the other spots by being bordered on its 

 upper side with some dull fulvous shading. But this spot 

 is not in any way more remarkable than those on the plum- 

 age of many birds, and might easily be overlooked. The 

 next higher spot does not differ at all from the upper ones 

 in the same row. The larger basal spots occupy exactly 

 the same relative position on these feathers as do" the per- 

 fect ocelli on the longer wing-feathers. 



By looking to the next two or three succeeding wing- 

 feathers, an absolutely insensible gradation can be traced 

 from one of the last described basal spots, together with the 

 next higher one in the same row, to a curious ornament, 

 which cannot be called an ocellus, and which I will name, 

 from the want of a better term, an " elliptic ornament." 

 These are shown in the accompanying figure (fig. 59). We 

 here see several oblique rows, A, B, C, D, etc. (see the let- 

 tered diagram on the right hand), of dark spots of the 

 usual character. Each row of spots runs down to and is 

 connected with one of the elliptic ornaments, in exactly 

 the same manner as each stripe in fig. 57 runs down to, 

 and is connected with, one of the ball-and-socket ocelli. 

 Looking to any one row, for instance, B, in fig. 59, the 

 lowest mark (#) is thicker and considerably longer than the 

 upper spots, and has its left extremity pointed and curved 

 upward. This black mark is abruptly bordered on its 



