I presume that the old birds fight in the same manner. It may perhaps
be objected that the comb and wattles are not ornamental, and cannot be
of service to the birds in this way; but even to our eyes, the beauty
of the glossy black Spanish cock is much enhanced by his white face and
crimson comb; and no one who has ever seen the splendid blue wattles of
the male Tragopan pheasant distended in courtship can for a moment
doubt that beauty is the object gained. From the foregoing facts we
clearly see that the plumes and other ornaments of the males must be of
the highest importance to them; and we further see that beauty is even
sometimes more important than success in battle.
CHAPTER XIV.
BIRDS continued.
Choice exerted by the female Length of courtship Unpaired birds Mental
qualities and taste for the beautiful Preference or antipathy shewn by
the female for particular males Variability of birds Variations
sometimes abrupt Laws of variation Formation of ocelli Gradations of
character Case of Peacock, Argus pheasant, and Urosticte.
When the sexes differ in beauty or in the power of singing, or in
producing what I have called instrumental music, it is almost
invariably the male who surpasses the female. These qualities, as we
have just seen, are evidently of high importance to the male. When they
are gained for only a part of the year it is always before the
breeding-season. It is the male alone who elaborately displays his
varied attractions, and often performs strange antics on the ground or
in the air, in the presence of the female. Each male drives away, or if
he can, kills his rivals. Hence we may conclude that it is the object
of the male to induce the female to pair with him, and for this purpose
he tries to excite or charm her in various ways; and this is the
opinion of all those who have carefully studied the habits of living
birds. But there remains a question which has an all important bearing
on sexual selection, namely, does every male of the same species excite
and attract the female equally? Or does she exert a choice, and prefer
certain males? This latter question can be answered in the affirmative
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