394 THE DESCENT OF irAN. 



feathers erect, in the position in which they -would naturally be 

 displayed, and now, from the light shining on them from above, 

 each ocellus at once resembled the ornament called a ball and 

 socket. These feathers have been shown to several artists, and 

 all have expressed their admiration at the perfect shading. It 

 may well be asked, could such artistically shaded ornaments have 

 been formed by means of sexual selection? But it will be con- 

 venient to defer giving an answer to this question, until we treat 

 in the next chapter of the principle of gradation. 



The foregoing remarks relate to the secondary wing-feathers, 

 but the primary wing-feathers, which in most gallinaceous birds 

 are uniformly colored, are in the Argus pheasant equally won- 

 derful. They are of a soft brown tint with numerous dark spots, 

 each of which consists of two or three black dots with a surround- 

 ing dark zone. But the chief ornament is a space parallel to the 

 dark-blue shaft, which in outline forms a perfect second feather 

 lying within the true feather. This inner part is colored of a 

 lighter chestnut, and is thickly dotted with minute white points. 



I have shown this feather to several persons, and many have 

 admired it even more than the ball and socket feathers, and 

 have declared that it was more like a work of art than of nature. 

 Now these feathers are quite hidden on all ordinary occasions, 

 but are fully displayed, together with the long secondary feathers, 

 when they are all expanded together so as to form the great fan or 

 shield. 



The case of the male Argus pheasant is eminently interesting, 

 because it affords good evidence that the most refined beauty may 

 serve as a sexual charm, and for no other purpose. We must con- 

 clude that this is the case, as the secondary and primary wing- 

 feathers are not at all displayed, and the ball and socket orna- 

 ments are not exhibited in full perfection, until the male assumes 

 the attitude of courtship. The Argus pheasant does not possess 

 brilliant colors, so that his success in love appears to depend on 

 the great size of his plumes, and on the elaboration of the most 

 elegant patterns. Many will declare that it is utterly incredible 

 that a female bird should be able to appreciate fine shading and 

 exquisite patterns. It is undoubtedly a marvelous fact that she 

 should possess this almost human degree of taste. He who thinks 

 that he can safely gauge the discrimination and taste of the 

 lower animals may deny that the female Argus pheasant can ap- 

 preciate such refined beauty; but he will then be compelled to ad- 

 mit that the extraordinary attitudes assumed by the male during 

 the act of courtship, by which the wonderful beauty of his plum- 

 age is fully displayed, are purposeless; and this is a conclusion 

 which I for one will never admit. 



Although so many pheasants and allied gallinaceous birds care- 

 fully display their plumage before the females, it is remarkable. 



