Female birds not only exert a choice, but in some few cases they court
the male, or even fight together for his possession. Sir R. Heron
states that with peafowl, the first advances are always made by the
female; something of the same kind takes place, according to Audubon,
with the older females of the wild turkey. With the capercailzie, the
females flit round the male whilst he is parading at one of the places
of assemblage, and solicit his attention. (30. In regard to peafowl,
see Sir R. Heron, Proc. Zoolog. Soc. 1835, p. 54, and the Rev. E.S.
Dixon, Ornamental Poultry, 1848, p. 8. For the turkey, Audubon, ibid.
p. 4. For the capercailzie, Lloyd, Game Birds of Sweden, 1867, p.
23.) We have seen that a tame wild-duck seduced an unwilling pintail
drake after a long courtship. Mr. Bartlett believes that the
Lophophorus, like many other gallinaceous birds, is naturally
polygamous, but two females cannot be placed in the same cage with a
male, as they fight so much together. The following instance of rivalry
is more surprising as it relates to bullfinches, which usually pair for
life. Mr. Jenner Weir introduced a dull-coloured and ugly female into
his aviary, and she immediately attacked another mated female so
unmercifully that the latter had to be separated. The new female did
all the courtship, and was at last successful, for she paired with the
male; but after a time she met with a just retribution, for, ceasing to
be pugnacious, she was replaced by the old female, and the male then
deserted his new and returned to his old love.
In all ordinary cases the male is so eager that he will accept any
female, and does not, as far as we can judge, prefer one to the other;
but, as we shall hereafter see, exceptions to this rule apparently
occur in some few groups. With domesticated birds, I have heard of only
one case of males shewing any preference for certain females, namely,
that of the domestic cock, who, according to the high authority of Mr.
Hewitt, prefers the younger to the older hens. On the other hand, in
effecting hybrid unions between the male pheasant and common hens, Mr.
Hewitt is convinced that the pheasant invariably prefers the older
birds. He does not appear to be in the least influenced by their
colour; but is most capricious in his attachments (31. Mr. Hewitt,
quoted in Tegetmeier s Poultry Book, 1866, p. 165.): from some
inexplicable cause he shews the most determined aversion to certain
hens, which no care on the part of the breeder can overcome. Mr. Hewitt
informs me that some hens are quite unattractive even to the males of
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