248 The Descent of Man. Paet 11, 



that in Scandinavia the broods of the capercailzie and black-cock 

 coiituiii more males than foinales ; and that with the Dal-ripa (a kind 

 of ptarmigan) more males than females attend the lehz or places of 

 courtship ; but this latter circumstance is accounted for by some 

 oliseivt rs by a gn aler number of hen birds being killed by vermin. 

 From various facts given by White of Selbiirne,"^ it seems clear that 

 the males of the partridge must be in considerable exct-ss iu the south 

 of England; ani I have been assured that this is the case in Scotland. 

 Mr. Weir on enquiring from the dealers, who receive at certain si asons 

 laige numbers of rutt's QMaohetes pugnax), was told that the males are 

 muoli the more numerous. This same naturalist has also enquired for 

 me fiom the birdcatchurs, who annually catch an astonishing number 

 of various small species alive tor the London market, and he was un- 

 hesitatingly answered by an old and trustworthy man, that with the 

 chaffinch the males are in large excess; he thought as high as 2 males to 

 1 female, or at least as high as 5 to 3."* The males of the blackbird, 

 ho likewise maintaimd, were by far the more numerous, whether 

 caught by traps or by netting at night. These statements may 

 apparently be trusted, because this same man said that the sexes are 

 about equal with the lark, the twite {hinaria montana), and giildtinch. 

 On the other hand, he is certain that with the common linnet, the 

 fem;iles preponderate greatly, but unequally during different years; 

 during some years he has found, the females to the males as four to one. 

 It should, however, be borne in mind, that the chief season for catching 

 birds does not begin till September, so that with some species partial 

 migrations may have begun, and the fliicks at this period often consist 

 of liens alone. Mr. Salvin paid particular attention to the sexes of the 

 humming-birds in Central Ameiiea, and he is convinced tliat with 

 most of the species the males are in excess ; thus one year he procured 

 204 specimens belonging to ten species, and these consisted of 1G6 

 males and of only 38 females. With two other species the females were 

 in excess : but the proportions apparently vary either during different 

 SI asons or in different localities; for on one occasion the males of 

 Cumpylopterus liemileucurus were to the females as 5 to 2, and on 

 another OLcasion°° in exactly the reversed ratio. As bearing on this 

 latter point, I may add, that Mr. Powys found in Corfu and Epirus 

 the sexes 01 the chaffinch keeping apart, and " the females by far the 

 " most numerous ;" whilst in Palestine Mr. Tristram found " the male 

 '■flocks ap|, earing greatly to exceed the female in number."^' So 

 again with the QuisoaltiB major, Mr. 6. Taylor*' says, that iu Florida 

 there were " very few females in proportion to the males," whilst in 

 Honduras the proportion was the other way, the species there having 

 the character of a polygamist. 



'* ' Nat. Hist, of Selborne,' letter ever caught by one man in a single 



xiix. edit, of 1825, vol. i. p. 139. day was 70. 



" Mr. J»nner Weir received " ' Ibis,' vol. ii. p. 260, as quoted 



Bimilar information, on making en- in Gould's * Trochilidte,* 1861, p. 



quiries during the following year. 52. For the foregoing proportions, 



To shew the number of living chaf- I am indebted to Mr. Salvin for i 



finches caught, I may mention that table of his results. 

 in 1H69 the"ie was a match between " 'Ibis,' 1860, p. 137; and 1867 



two experts, and one man caught p. 369. 

 in a day 62, and another 40, m^ale «» 'Ibis,' 1862, p. 137 



ohuifinches. The greatest Dumber 



