New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-05-09


not prefer one male to another, the pairing must be
left to chance. which seems highly improbable. But
IT, as is supposed the females prefer the more beaut-
full males the coors Of the latter will have been rem
dered brighter by degrees, and will have been trans
mtted 10 their offspring according to the law OF in
heritance.
But the most striking illustration of the influ-
ence of sex in mparting permanent characteristics
TO animal species is TO be found in the structure and
habits Of birds On this point, Mr.. Darwin dwells
with great fulness of detail and his chapters which
treat of il present collection of curious facts 10
which nothing can compare for interest in the usual
expOsitOns of scientific naturalists. He commences
with the statement that male birds soine,nno''
though rarely possess special weapons 1or nsn'in
with each other. They charm the females ny -, ~,
or instrumental music of the most Vaii,u -
They are ornamented by all sorts OF coinD', ,..h
wattles topknots naked shafts, pluines' anu
ened feathers gracefully springing rUl a. ia
the hodv The beak and naked SKIN ABOUT 'iio ie"'
and the feathers are often gorgeously coioreu Inv
males sornotimes nav their court by dancing OF ny
fantastic antics performed either on the grouiu vi
in the air I'm one instance, at least the maze ehiS
a muslv odor which. 1t may De supposeu' sei'oS "
attract the female On the whole Dirds appear W
~ a. most aesthetic of all animals. excepting OF
course man. and they have nearly the same taste lor
~ hoortifnl as we have,n which is shown by our
endowment of the singing of birds, and by women
decking their heads with borrowed plumes, and de-
lighting in gems which are hardly more brilliantly
coored than the naked skin and wattles of certain
birds.
Almost all male birds are extremely pugnaclous
They fight one another with beak, and wing, and
leg We see this every Spring with robins and
no HIM bird which IL thp smallest
of all birds, is one of the most quarresome. Two
males rarely meet without fierce aerial encounter.
When kept in cages they fight till the tongue of one
of the two is split who then dies from being unable
to feed The males of the poygamous ruff con-
gregate in the Spring where the females intend to
lay their eggs and fight like gamecocks, Selling one
another with their beaks and striking with their
wings They seem always ready to fight, and when
closely confined, often kill each other. But their
puCnacity becomes greater in the Spring, when the
long feathers on their necks are fully developed,
and at this period the least movement by any one
bird provokes general battle. The males Of many
birds are larger than the females and this has been
gained through sexual selection With many other
birds the females larger than the males, and IN
some cases they apparently have acquired their
greater size and strength for the sake of cOnquerng
other females and obtaining possession OF
the males. The season of love Is that OF
battle but even with the most pugna-
cious species. the pairing does not depend on the
mere strength and courage of the males. For such
males are generally decorated with various orna-
ments which often become more brilliant during
the breeding season, and which are sedulOusly dis
PLAYED before the females They also endeavOr TO
charm their mates by love-notes songs, and antics,
during their proracted courtship. 1t is not proba-
BILE argues Mr.. Darwin, that the females are indlf-
ferent to the charms of individuals of the opposite
SEX or are always compelled to yield to the victor.
II is more likely that the females attracted, either
before or after the conflict, by certain males 10
whom they give the preference.
The voice of birds serves TO express various emo
tions, as distress fear, anger, triumph joy. 1t
sometimes appears to be used to excite terror with
the Kissing noise made by some nesting birds. Some
social birds apparently call to each other for aid and
as they fit from tree to tree the flock is kept together
by reciprocal chirps. During the nocturnal migra-
tons of geese and other waterfowl, clangs
from the van may be heard in the darkness over
head, answered by clangs in the rear. The true
song however of most birds and various strange
cries are chiefly uttered during the breeding
and serve az a charm, merely as cal-note to the
other sex. As a rule the males of song-brds do not
search for the female but perch on some conspicuous
spot. breathing out their loud and melting notes,
which the female knows and repairs TO the spot TO
choose her mate.
But il is not only the voice which is used by the
males of various birds during the season of love.
Many of them practice what may be called instru-
mental music. Peacocks and brds-of-paradise rattle
their quilts together. Turkeycocks and some kinds
Of grouse scrape their wings against the ground,
and thus produce a buzzing noise. One of the
American grouse drums rapidly with his lowered
wings against the trunk of fallen tree, or against
his own body. producing sound which is compared
by some TO distant thunder, and by others to the
quick roll Of drum. The female, who never drums.
flies directly to the place where the male Is thus en-
gagged. The various species of wOCdpeckers strike a
sonorous branch with their beaks, with so rapid a
vibratory movement that the head appears to be in
two places at once As this Earring sound is made
chiefly dunng the breeding-season it has been con-
sidered as a love-song, but it is perhaps more
strictly a lOve-call. The diversity of the sounds,
both vocal and instrumental, made by the males of
many species during the breeding season is not lit
tie remarkable. We thus gain high idea of their
Importance for sexual purposes. 1t is not difficult to
imagine the steps by which the notes of a bird, at
first used as a mere call or for other purpose,
might have been improved into melodious love
song. Some birds during their courtship tiutter,
shake or rattle their feathers together Now if the
females led to select the best performers, the
males with the strongest or thickest, or most aten-
uated feathers, situated on any part OF the body
would be the most successful. In this way, by
slow degrees, the feathers might be modified to
almost any extent forming the distinctive charac-
teristc of new varieties.
Mr. Darwin devotes a large space to the decora-
tons of birds in which ne finds rich store Of facts
for the illustration of his theory, presenting many
curious details which have been passed by pre-
vious writers with comparative neglect As with
the artificial ornaments used by the human race, the
head is the seat of the natural ornaments of birds