PREFERENCE BY THE FEMALE. 409 



and produce hybrids. Many instances could be given: thus Mac- 

 gillivray relates how a male blackbird and female thrush "fell in 

 "love with each other," and produced offspring." Several years 

 ago eighteen cases had been recorded of the occurrence in Great 

 Britain of hybrids between the black grouse and pheasant;^* but 

 most of these cases may perhaps be accounted for by solitary birds 

 not finding one of their own species to pair with. With other 

 birds, as Mr. Jenner Weir has reason to believe, hybrids are some- 

 times the result of the casual intercourse of birds building in close 

 proximity. But these remarks do not apply to the many recorded 

 instances of tamed or domestic birds, belonging to distinct species, 

 which have become absolutely fascinated with each other, although 

 living with their own species. Thus Waterton" states that out of 

 a flock of twenty-three Canada geese, a female paired with a soli- 

 tary Bernicle gander, although so different in appearance and size; 

 and they produced hybrid offspring. A male widgeon (Mareca 

 penelope), living with females of the same species, has been 

 known to pair with a pintail duck, Querquedula acuta. Lloyd de- 

 scribes the remarkable attachment between a shield-drake (Tad- 

 orna vulpanser) and a common duck. Many additional instances 

 could be given; and the Rev. E. S. Dixon remarks that "those 

 "who have kept many different species of geese together, well 

 "know what unaccountable attachments they are frequently form- 

 "ing, and that they are quite as likely to pair and rear young with 

 "individuals of a race (species) apparently the most alien to 

 "themselves, as with their own stock." 



The Rev. W. D. Fox informs me that he possessed at the same 

 time a pair of Chinese geese (Anser cygnoides), and a common 

 gander with three geese. The two lots kept quite separate, until 

 the Chinese gander seduced one of the common geese to live with 

 him. Moreover, of the young birds hatched from the eggs of the 

 common geese, only four were pure, the other eighteen proving 

 hybrids; so that the Chinese gander seems to have had prepotent 

 charms over the common gander. I will give only one other case; 

 Mr. Hewitt states that a wild duck, reared in captivity, "after 

 "breeding a couple of seasons with her own mallard, at once shook 

 "him off on my placing a male Pintail on the water. It was evi- 

 "dently a case of love at first sight, for she swam about the new- 



" 'Hist, of Britisli Birds,' vol. ii. p. 92. 



18 'Zoolog-ist,' 1853-1854, p. 3946. 



" Waterton, 'Essays on Nat. Hist.' 2nd series, pp. 42 and 117. For the 

 following statements see on the widgeon, Loudon's 'Mag. of Nat. Hist.' 

 vol. ix. p. 616; L. Lloyd, 'Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. i. 1854, p. 452. 

 Dixon, 'Ornamental and Domestic Poultry,' p. 137; Hewitt, in 'Journal 

 of Horticulture,' Jan. 13, 1863, p. 40; Bechstein, 'Stubenvogel,' 1840, s. 230. 

 Mr. J. Jenner Weir has lately given me an analogous case with ducks 

 of two species. 



