SEXUAL SELECTION IN BIRDS. 217 



well lead me to doubt whether the female bird is really more coy 

 than the male — whether there be such a thing, in fact, in nature 

 as coyness, and whether a variety of commonplace real reasons 

 (amongst others, satiety) are not hidden under the mantle of this 

 imaginary poetic one. 



April 28th. — Have just seen something which interests me. 

 A duck and two drakes (the Common Mallard), flying together, 

 were joined by a third drake, but one of the three making the 

 original party made, a dig at him in the air — very noticeable — 

 on which he turned and flew right off, at a tangent. When the 

 three came down into the fields, this drake, which I had marked 

 down before, flew to rejoin them, but, as he settled, they went off 

 again, leaving him standing alone, and looking foolish. This 

 occurred twice again, and I noticed, now, that the duck and one 

 of the drakes were the real fugitives, keeping close together, and 

 going off first, followed by the second drake, who was not, how- 

 ever, expelled as the third one had been. When the three went 

 down the last time, the drake that was evidently the " third 

 person " would have kept close to the duck — as the other one was 

 — but she, turning and with her head down, made an angry 

 movement towards him, threatening him with her bill, on which 

 he at once went to some dozen paces off, at which distance he 

 remained, and the three settled down thus, the duck and her 

 chosen drake couching, side by side, on the grass. This and my 

 previous observation with the Kentish Plover convinces me that 

 it was the duck, and not one of the two drakes with her, that 

 turned off the third one, whilst flying, in so very effective a 

 manner. Probably such action on the part of either of the 

 latter would not have had the same effect, for the female not 

 endorsing it would have left him a pretendant on equal terms 

 with the others. We must recognize that amongst birds the 

 female can turn upon a male who is distasteful to her, and that 

 her doing so may be very effective — indeed, quite dramatically 

 so. Again, it is interesting that whilst the third drake was 

 driven right away, and afterwards shunned, the number two one 

 seemed to be tolerated as long as too great familiarities were 

 not attempted by him. The pair never flew away, together, 

 from him, but they always did so from the other one, who would 

 have made a fourth party. It would seem that, amongst many 



Zool. 4th ser. vol. X , June, 1906. s 



