542 THE DESCENT OF MAN 



Female birds not only exert a choice, but in some few 

 cases they court the male, or even fight together for his 

 possession. Sir E. Heron states that with peafowl the first 

 advances are always made by the female; something of the 

 same kind takes place, according to Audubon, with the older 

 females of the wild turkey. With the capercailzie, the fe- 

 males flit round the male while he is parading at one of the 

 places of assemblage, and solicit his attention."" We have 

 seen that a tame wild-duck seduced an unwilling pintail 

 drake after a long courtship. Mr. Bartlett believes that 

 the Lophophorus, like many other gallinaceous birds, is 

 naturally polygamous, but two females cannot be placed 

 in the same cage with the male, as they fight so much 

 together. The following instance of rivalry is more sur- 

 prising, as it relates to bullfinches, which usually pair for 

 life. Mr. Jenner Weir introduced a dull-colored and ugly 

 female into his aviary, and she immediately attacked another 

 mated female so unmercifully that the latter had to be sep- 

 arated. The new female did all the courtship, and was at 

 last successful, for she paired with the male; but after a 

 time she met with a just retribution, for, ceasing to be 

 pugnacious, she was replaced by the old female, and the 

 male then deserted his new and returned to his old love. 



In all ordinary cases the male is so eager that he will 

 accept any female, and does not, as far as we can judge, 

 prefer one to the other; but, as we shall hereafter see, ex- 

 ceptions to this rule apparently occur in some few groups. 

 With domesticated birds I have heard of only one case of 

 males showing any preference for certain females, namely, 

 that of the domestic cock, who, according to the high au- 

 thority of Mr. Hewitt, prefers the younger to the older 

 hens. On the other hand, in -effecting hybrid unions be- 

 tween the male pheasant and common hens, Mr. Hewitt is 



'^ In regard to peafowl, see Sir R. Heron, "Proc. Zoolog. Soc," 1835, 

 p. 54, and the Eev. B. S. Dixon, "Ornamental Poultry," 1848, p. 8. For th« 

 turkey, Audubon, ibid., p. 4. For the capercailzie, Lloyd, "Game Birds ol 

 Sweden," 186^, p. 23. 



