BIRDS 85 



a different one. There would not have been a develop- 

 ment of the colour of the breast in one steady direction, 

 namely, towards a bright red. If we suppose that only 

 one special novelty pleased, and gave equal pleasure to 

 all the females, we are doing violence to Nature. We 

 must first show that this novelty pleases the female, and 

 why it does so. 



We see, then, that this second kind of sexual selection 

 is not satisfactory. How, in that case, can we explain 

 the peculiar characters of the male ? What was the 

 origin of the brighter colours, the specially developed 

 feathers, dances, songs, and perfumes, of the males, in all 

 classes of animals? Can we not give a satisfactory 

 explanation of some of them ? We shall see. 



But must we reject altogether this choice on the part 

 of the females? Is it not blind chance that brings any 

 male to a female and provides it with the fruit of love ? 



No, certainly not. It is not chance that brings the 

 male to the object of its love. It seeks it of itself. 

 But it is clear that the males which detect the females 

 soonest will attain their purpose first, and that those 

 with inferior organs of detection will come too late, and 

 lose the reward. Thus we see at once that there is a 

 sexual selection which falls into the first category of 

 that group, and enables us to understand how the males 

 of many animals have better sight, hearing, and smell, 

 than the females. These organs must, of course, have 

 been formed and developed by natural selection, since 

 the animals need them for vital purposes ; but sexual 

 selection will improve them, as it comes after natural 

 selection and is more exacting. It is, for instance, 



