Chap. XVI. THE YOUNG LIKE THE ADULT FEMALES. 195 
differs slightly from the female in his more strongly- 
pronounced red and brown tints/^ we may conclude 
that his plumage has been, at least to a certain extent, 
influenced by sexual selection. If so, we may further 
infer that the nearly similar plumage of the female 
black-grouse was similarly produced at some former 
period. But since this period the male black-grouse 
has acquired his fine black plumage, with his forked and 
outwardly-curled tail-feathers ; but of these characters 
there has hardly been any transference to the female, 
excepting that she shews in her tail a trace of the curved 
fork. 
We may therefore conclude that the females of dis- 
tinct though allied species have often had their plumage 
rendered more or less different by the transference in 
various degrees, of characters acquired, both during 
former and recent times, by the males through sexual 
selection. But it deserves especial attention that 
brilliant colours have been transferred much more 
rarely than other tints. For instance, the male of 
the red-throated bluebreast {Gyanecula suecica) has 
a rich blue breast, including a sub-triangular red 
mark; now marks of approximately the same shape 
have been transferred to the female, but the central 
space is fulvous instead of red, and is surrounded by 
mottled instead of blue feathers. The Gallinacesc offer 
many analogous cases ; for none of the species, such as 
partridges, quails, guinea-fowls, &c., in which the colours 
of the plumage have been largely transferred from the 
male to the female, are brilliantly coloured. This is 
well exemplified with the pheasants, in which the male 
is generally so much more brilliant than the female ; 
but with the Eared and Cheer pheasants {Crossojpfilon 
Macgillivray, ‘Hist. British Birds/ vol. i. p. 172-174. 
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