414 THE DESCENT OP MAN. 



be maintained that albinos in a state of nature are incapable of 

 breeding, as they can be raised with the greatest facility under 

 confinement. It appears, therefore, that we must attribute the 

 fact that they do not pair, to their rejection by their normally col- 

 ored comrades. 



Female birds not only exert a choice, but in some few cases they 

 court the male, or even fight together for his possession. Sir R. 

 Heron states that with peafowl, the first advances are always 

 made by the female; something of the same kind takes place, ac- 

 cording to Audubon, with the older females of the wild turkey. 

 With the capercailzie, the females flit round the male whilst he is 

 parading at one of the places of assemblage, and solicit his at- 

 tention.'" We have seen that a tame wild-duck seduced an un- 

 willing pintail drake after a long courtship. Mr. Bartlett believes 

 that the Lophophorus, like many other gallinaceous birds, is nat- 

 urally polygamous, but two females cannot be placed in the same 

 cage with a male, as they fight so much together. The following 

 instance of rivalry is more surprising as it relates to bullfinches, 

 which usually pair for life. Mr. Jenner Weir introduced a dull- 

 colored and ugly female into his aviary, and she immediately at- 

 tacked another mated female so unmercifully, that the latter had 

 to be separated. The new female did all the courtship, and was 

 at last successful, for she paired with the male; but after a time 

 she met with a just retribution, for, ceasing to be pugnacious, she 

 was replaced by the old female, and the male then deserted his 

 new and returned to his old love. 



In all ordinary cases the male is so eager that he will accept 

 any female, and does not, as far as we can judge, prefer one to the 

 other; but, as we shall hereafter see, exceptions to this rule ap- 

 parently occur in some few groups. With domesticated birds, I 

 have heard of only one case of males showing any preference for 

 certain females, namely, that of the domestic cock, who, accord- 

 ing to the high authority of Mr. Hewitt, prefers the younger to the 

 older hens. On the other hand, in effecting hybrid unions between 

 the male pheasant and common hens, Mr. Hewitt is convinced 

 that the pheasant invariably prefers the older birds. He does not 

 appear to be in the least influenced by their color, but "is most 

 "capricious in his attachments;"" from some inexplicable cause 

 he shows the most determined aversion to certain hens, which no 

 care on the part of the breeder can overcome. Mr. Hewitt in- 

 forms me that some hens are quite unattractive even to the males 



"^ In regard to peafowl, see Sir R. Heron, 'Proc. Zoolog. Soc' 1835, p. 

 54, and the Rev. E. S. Dixon, 'Ornamental Poultry,' 1348, p. 8. For the 

 turkey, Audubon, ibid. p. 4. For the capercailzie, Lloyd, 'Game Birds 

 of Sweden,' 1867, p. 23. 



» Mr. Hewitt, quoted in 'Tegetmeier's Poultry Book,' 1866, p. 165. 



