50 
SEXUAL SELECTION : BIEDS. 
Part II. 
desire ; but some of these battles are caused by wander- 
ing males trying to distract the peace of an already 
mated pair.^^ 
Even with the most pugnacious species it is probable 
that the pairing does not depend exclusively on the 
mere strength and courage of the male : for such 
males are generally decorated with various ornaments, 
which often become more brilliant during the breeding- 
season, and which are sedulously displayed before the 
females. The males also endeavour to charm or ex- 
cite their mates by love-notes, songs, and antics ; and 
the courtship is, in many instances, a prolonged affair. 
Hence it is not probable that the females are indifferent 
to the charms of the opposite sex, or that they are 
invariably compelled to yield to the victorious males. 
It is more probable that the females are excited, either 
before or after the conflict, by certain males, and thus 
unconsciously prefer them. In the case of Tetrao um~ 
hellus, a good observer^ goes so far as to believe that 
the battles of the males are all a sham, performed 
to show themselves to the greatest advantage before 
the admiring females who assemble around ; for I 
^^have never been able to find a maimed hero, and 
seldom more than a broken feather.” I shall have 
to recur to this subject, but I may here add that with 
the Tetrao cupido of the United States, about a score of 
males assemble at a particular spot, and strutting about 
make the wdiole air resound with their extraordinary 
noises. At the first answer from a female the males 
begin to fight furiously, and the weaker give way ; but 
then, according to Audubon, both the victors and van- 
quished search for the female, so that the females must 
Brehm, ‘ Thierleben/ &c., B. iv. 1867, p. 990. Audubon, ‘ Ornith. 
Biography,’ vol. ii. p. 492. 
23 ‘ Land and Water/ July 25th, 1868, p. 14. 
