THE ARGUS PHEASANT. 137 



This appearance is even stUl more distinctly shown in a photograph of the expanded 

 wings mounted as an ornamental screen by Mr. Edwin Ward, which is now 

 before me. 



The mode in which these ocelli have been produced has been the subject of 

 a very elaborate and ingenious disquisition by Mr. C. Darwin (" Descent of Man," 

 vol. ii., p. 141), to which I would refer those of my readers who desire to enter 

 more deeply into the subject ; but the following remarks on the characteristics of 

 the feathers and their employment by the male are so graphic that I need make 

 no apology for quoting them (vol. ii., p. 91) : — 



" The immensely-developed secondary wing feathers which are confined to the 

 male, are ornamented with a row of from twenty to twenty-three oceUi, each above 

 an inch in diameter. The feathers are also elegantly marked with oblique dark 

 stripes and rows of spots, like those on the skia of a tiger and leopard combined. 

 The ocelli are so beautifully shaded, that they stand out like a baU lying loosely 

 within a socket. But when I looked at the specimen in the British Museum, which 

 is mounted with the wings expanded and trailing downwards, I was greatly disappointed, 

 for the ocelli appeared flat or even concave. Mr. Gould, however, soon made the 

 case clear to me, for he had made a drawing of a male whilst he was displaying 

 himself. At such times the long secondary feathers in both wings are vertically 

 erected and expanded, and these, together with the enormously elongated tail feathers, 

 make a grand semicircular upright fan. Now as soon as the wing feathers are held 

 in this position, and the light shines on them from above, the full effect of the 

 shading comes out, and each ocellus at once resembles 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. 



" The primary wing feathers, which in most gallinaceous birds are uniformly 

 coloured, are in the Argus pheasant not less wonderful objects than the secondary 

 wing feathers. They are of a soft brown tint with numerous dark spots, each of 

 which consists of two or three black dots with a surrounding 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 coloured 

 of a lighter chesnut, 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 folly displayed when the long secondary feathers are erected, though in a 

 widely different manner ; for they are expanded in front like two little fans or 

 shields, one on each side of the breast near the ground. 



"The case of the male Argus pheasant is eminently interesting, because it 

 affords good evidence that the most refined beauty may serve as a charm for the 



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