The Making of Species 
‘ off-coloured’ birds could succeed in getting and 
keeping mates when correctly-dressed drakes 
pined in lonely bachelorhood ; one grey-breasted 
bird had even been able to indulge in bigamy. 
That strength ruled here was obvious from the 
way in which the wedded birds drove away their 
unmated rivals, a proceeding in which their wives 
most thoroughly sympathised. 
“Evidently, beauty does not count for much 
with the park duck, and the same seems to be the 
case with the fowl. As a boy, I often used to 
visit a yard wherein was a very varied assort- 
ment of fowls. Among these was one very 
handsome cock, of the typical black and red 
colouring of the wild bird, and very fully 
‘furnished’ in the matter of hackle and sickle 
feathers. Yet the hens held him in no great 
account, while the master of the yard, a big 
black bird, with much Spanish blood, provided 
with a huge pair of spurs, was so admired that 
he was always attended by some little bantam 
hens, although they might have had diminutive 
husbands of their own class. 
“It must be remembered, however, that these 
ducks and fowls had an unnaturally wide choice. 
In nature, varieties are rare, and the competing 
suitors are likely to be all very much alike; this 
makes matters very difficult for the observer, 
who may easily pass over small differences which 
are plain enough to the eyes of the hen birds.” 
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