The Descent of Man

ta); and where these fights have occurred the
river is covered for some distance with feathers."
(8. Sir R. Schomburgk, in 'Journal of Royal
Geographic Society,' vol. xiii. 1843, p. 31.)
Birds which seem ill-adapted for fighting engage
in fierce conflicts; thus the stronger males of
the pelican drive away the weaker ones, snapping
with their huge beaks and giving heavy
blows with their wings. Male snipe fight together,
"tugging and pushing each other with their
bills in the most curious manner imaginable."
Some few birds are believed never to fight; this
is the case, according to Audubon, with one of
the woodpeckers of the United States (Picu sauratus),
although "the hens are followed by even
half a dozen of their gay suitors." (9. 'Ornithological
Biography,' vol. i. p. 191. For pelicans
and snipes, see vol. iii. pp. 138, 477.)
The males of many birds are larger than the
females, and this no doubt is the result of the
advantage gained by the larger and stronger