This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1919 edition. Excerpt: ...itself. The mating habits of birds are subject to great variation. In the more primitive species there is, as a rule, no permanent union of the sexes, the males and females separating after the breeding season is over. Many birds are polygamous, such as our domestic fowl, a single large, strong male ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1919 edition. Excerpt: ...itself. The mating habits of birds are subject to great variation. In the more primitive species there is, as a rule, no permanent union of the sexes, the males and females separating after the breeding season is over. Many birds are polygamous, such as our domestic fowl, a single large, strong male going about with a flock of females, and driving away all weaker rivals. In most of the song birds, however, there is a more permanent union of the sexes, in some cases lasting until the death of one of the members of the pair. The males frequently take turns with the females in sitting upon the eggs, an office which the rooster among our domestic poultry would never condescend to perform. The males of many song birds also help in bringing food to the young, in cleaning the nest, and in some cases in bringing food to the female while she is incubating the eggs. Among the higher birds, nesting is usually preceded by courtship, a ceremony which is dispensed with among the cruder and less gallant males of the lower birds. It is very common for the males to be distinguished from the females by more brilliant and beautiful plumage and superior powers of song. Both of these characters are brought into play by the males who attempt to display themselves to the best advantage before the eyes of their intended mates. Darwin attempted to account for the superior qualities of the male birds by his theory of sexual selection, according to which the males that were the most brilliantly colored, or which sang most sweetly, or otherwise displayed themselves to the best advantage Fig. 151.-Side view of male Argus pheasant, whilst displaying before female. (After Darwin.) would be most likely to be chosen by the females as mates. Hence if this selection were...
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