ti4 The Descent of Man. Part J I 



" Besides these there were several newly-picked leaves and 

 " young shoots of a pinkish colour, the whole shewing a dc- 

 '• cided taste for the beautiful." Well may Mr. Gould say, that 

 " these highly decorated halls of assembly must be regarded as 

 " the most wonderful instances of bird-architecture yet dis- 

 " covered;" and the taste, as we see, of the several sp^oieB 

 oertainlj differs.'^ 



Preftrence for particular Males hy the Females.- — Having made 

 these preliminary remarks on the discrimination and taste of 

 bu'ds, I will give all the facts known to me, which bear on the 

 preference shewn- by the female for particular males. It is 

 certain that distinct species of birds occasionally pair in a state 

 of nature and produce hybrids. Many instances could be 

 given: thus Macgillivray relates how a male blackbird and 

 female thrush "fell in love with each other," and produced 

 offspring." Several years ago eighteen cases had been recorded 

 of the occurrence in Great Britain of hybrids between the black 

 grouse and pheasant ; " but most of these cases may perhaps be 

 accounted for by solitary birds not finding one of their own 

 species to pair with. With other birds, as Mr. Jenner Weir has 

 reason to believe, hybrids are sometimes the result of the casual 

 intercourse of birds building in close proximity. But these 

 remarks do not apply to the many recorded instances of tamed 

 or domestic birds, belonging to distinct species, which have 

 become absolutely fascinated with each other, although living 

 with their own species. Thus Waterton" states that out of a 

 flock of twenty-three Canada geese, a female paired with a 

 solitary Bernicle gander, although so different in appearance and 

 size; and they produced hybrid oflspring. A male widgeon 

 (Mareca pentlope), living with females of the same species, has 

 been known to pair with a pintail duck, Querquedula acuta. 

 Lloyd describes the remarkable attachment between a shield- 

 drake (_Tadorna vidpanser) and a common duck. Many ad- 



" On the ornamented nests of For the following statements, si,e on 

 jumming-birds, Gould, ' Introduc- the widgeon, Loudon's ' Mag. of Nat. 

 tion to the Ti-ochilidae,' 1861, p. 19. Hist.' vol. ix. p. 616; L. Lloyd, 'Scan- 

 On the bower-birds, Gould, 'Hand- dinaviau Adventures,' vol. i. 1854, 

 book to the Birds of Australia,' p. 452. Dixon, ' Ornamental and 

 1865, vol. 1. pp. 444-461. Ramsay, Domestic Poultry,' p. 137; Hewitt, 

 in the 'Ibis,' 1867, p. 456. in 'Journal of Horticulture,' Jan. 



" ' Hi^t. of British Birds,' vol. ii. 13, 1863, p. 40; Bechstein, 'Stu- 



p 92. benvbgel,' 1840, s. 230. Mr. J. 



'» 'Zoologist,' 1S53-1854, p. Jenner Weir has lately given me 



J946. an analogous case with ducks of two 



'• Waterton, ' Essays on Nat. species, 

 P=6*.'2nd series, pp. 42 and 117. 



