Notes on Sexual Selection .



239



It will thus be seen that I cannot give any very conclusive

evidence in favour of orthodox female preferences ; but an ex¬

tended series of experiments might show a very different result,

and confirm Darwin's view. Anyone wishing to make such

should guard against the males getting at each other and fight¬

ing, by confining the female used and the two rival cocks in

compartments separated by wire-netting with the hen’s in the

centre ; it would also be best to get hens which were strangers

to the cocks, and to refer several pairs of cocks to the same hen,

as well as trying these couples of cocks with different hens in

succession.


If a series of such experiments showed that the hens on

the whole preferred the more highly-decorated males, or normal

males to those with more striking but abnormal colouration, the

only obstacle to the acceptance of Darwin’s theory would be the

undoubted fact that strength counts for so much. But there is

nothing to prevent the hen migrating along with a beaten bird,

and perhaps the winner might not care to follow him away from

his own 41 beat.”


I do not think the apparent indifference of the hen is a

very serious objection ; it has been pointed out that, from the

lateral position of most birds’ eyes, they are able to observe

things even when they seem to be looking elsewhere, and so the

hen may be observing more than we think.


Moreover, many of us have noticed the similarity between

the bird mind and that of human children ; now, anyone who is

fond of noticing small children will have observed this, though

the little ones on first introduction to one who is fond of them

may not take apparent notice of friendly overtures, their

remarks to their parents afterwards, when the stranger has gone,

show that they did notice and appreciate them. If hen birds

are like this, it is quite possible that here is another explanation

of apparent indifference to display.


For all that, however, I am quite convinced that the

display, like human blushing (and we all know that some birds

blush, the turkey especially ! ) is simply, as I said many years

ago, an instinctive expression of emotion ; birds would display

anyhow, whatever the result.



