The Descent of Man

attitude the ocelli over the whole body are exposed
at the same time before the eyes of the
admiring female in one grand bespangled expanse.
To whichever side she may turn, the
expanded wings and the obliquely-held tail are
turned towards her. The male Tragopan pheasant
acts in nearly the same manner, for he raises
the feathers of the body, though not the
wing itself, on the side which is opposite to the
female, and which would otherwise be concealed,
so that nearly all the beautifully spotted
feathers are exhibited at the same time.
[Fig. 52. Side view of male Argus pheasant,
whilst displaying before the female. Observed
and sketched from nature by T.W. Wood.]
The Argus pheasant affords a much more remarkable
case. The immensely developed secondary
wing-feathers are confined to the male;
and each is ornamented with a row of from
twenty to twenty-three ocelli, above an inch in
diameter. These feathers are also elegantly mar-