COURTING OF THE TRAGOPAN (Certornis satyrus) 
Among highly organized groups of animals the male is commonly 
more beautiful than his partner, and the matrimonial chances of 
the former are supposed to be often proportionate to his decorative 
endowments. According to this view the zsthetic taste of females 
has had an important influence in the evolution of male adorn- 
ments. The Horned Pheasant (Ceréornis satyrus) or Tragopan of 
Northern India, which is one of a small group of extremely hand- 
some species, affords a good illustration of the striking difference 
in appearance which often distinguishes the sexes. As will be 
gathered from the plate, the hen-bird (in the foreground) is com- 
paratively dowdy, but the cock possesses adornments of no common 
order, which he is represented as fully displaying with a view of 
securing the favour of a desired partner. His ornaments include a 
couple of blue outgrowths on the head, which can be made to stick 
up like horns, and a pair of brilliantly coloured wattles capable of 
inflation to form a sort of horseshoe-shaped collar. Details of the 
colour-scheme and of the love-antics are given in the text. 
