Chap. XIV. 
GRADATION OF CHARACTERS. 
149 
stripes suddenly cease upwards and become confused, 
and above this limit the whole upper end of the feather 
{a) is covered with white dots, surrounded by little 
black rings, standing on a dark ground. Even the 
oblique stripe belonging to 
the uppermost ocellus (b) 
is represented only by a 
very short irregular black 
mark wdth the usual, curved, 
transverse base. As this 
stripe is thus abruptly cut 
off above, we can understand, 
from what has gone before, 
how it is that the upper 
thickened part of the ring is 
absent in the uppermost ocel- 
lus; for, as before stated, this 
thickened part is apparently 
formed by a broken pro- 
longation of the next higher 
spot in the same row. From 
the absence of the upper 
and thickened part of the 
ring, the uppermost ocellus, 
though perfect in all other 
respects, appears as if its top 
had been obliquely sliced off. 
It would, I think, perplex 
any one, who believes that 
the plumage of the Argus- 
pheasant was created as we 
now see it, to account for the 
imperfect condition of the 
uppermost ocelli. I should add that in the secondary 
wing-feather farthest from the body all the ocelli are 
Fig. 59. Portion near summit of one of 
the Secondary wing-feathers, bearing 
perfect ball-and-socket ocelli. 
a. Ornamented upper part. 
b. Uppermost, imperfect ball-and-socket 
ocellus, (fhe shading above the 
white mark on the summit of the 
ocellus is here a little too dark.) 
c. Perfect ocellus. 
