262 THE FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS 
Darwin describes how, in the Argus pheasant,* ‘the im- 
mensely developed secondary wing-feathers are confined to the 
male, and each is ornamented with a row of from twenty to 
twenty-three ocelli, each above an inch in diameter. These 
beautiful ornaments are hidden until the male shows himself 
before the female. He then erects his tail, and expands his 
wing-feathers into a great, almost upright, circular fan or 
shield, which is carried in front of the body. The ocelli are so 
shaded that, as the Duke of Argyll remarks, they stand out 
like balls lying loosely within sockets. But when I looked at 
a specimen in the British Museum, which is mounted with the 
wings expanded and trailing downward, I was,” adds Darwin, 
“ oreatly disappointed, for the ocelli appeared flat or even con- 
cave. Mr. Gould, however, soon made the case clear to me, for 
he held the feathers erect, in the position in which they would 
naturally be displayed, and now, from the light shining on 
them from above, each ocellus at once resembled the ornament 
called a ball and socket.” The primary wing-feathers are 
scarcely, if at all, inferior in beauty to the secondaries, though 
the markings are quite different, the chief ornament being a 
space parallel to the dark-blue shaft, which in outline forms 
a perfect second feather lying within the true feather. “Now 
the secondary and primary wing-feathers are not at all dis- 
played, and the ball and socket ornaments are not exhibited in 
full perfection, until the male assumes the attitude of court- 
ship.” 
It is unnecessary to describe the song of birds which is 
generally, but not always, at its best during the period of 
pairing. Bechstein, who kept birds during his whole life, and 
studied them with care, asserts that “the female canary always 
chooses the best singer, and that in a state of nature the 
female finch selects that male out of a hundred whose notes 
please her most.” 
Thus we are led back to sexual selection. If we are satisfied 
that the males of certain species do as a matter of fact behave 
* Darwin, op. cit., p. 99. 
+ Quoted by Darwin, ‘ Descent of Man,” vol. ii., p. 58. 
