The Descent of Man

(23. Boitard and Corbie, 'Les Pigeons,' etc.,
1824, p. 12. Prosper Lucas ('Traite de l'Hered.
Nat.' tom. ii. 1850, p. 296) has himself observed
nearly similar facts with pigeons.) On the other
hand, Mr. Harrison Weir has himself observed,
and has heard from several breeders, that a
female pigeon will occasionally take a strong
fancy for a particular male, and will desert her
own mate for him. Some females, according to
another experienced observer, Riedel (24. Die
Taubenzucht, 1824, s. 86.), are of a profligate
disposition, and prefer almost any stranger to
their own mate. Some amorous males, called by
our English fanciers "gay birds," are so successful
in their gallantries, that, as Mr. H. Weir informs
me, they must be shut up on account of
the mischief which they cause.
Wild turkeys in the United States, according to
Audubon, "sometimes pay their addresses to
the domesticated females, and are generally
received by them with great pleasure." So that