The Descent of Man

these females apparently prefer the wild to
their own males. (25. 'Ornithological Biography,'
vol. i. p. 13. See to the same effect, Dr.
Bryant, in Allen's 'Mammals and Birds of Florida,'
p. 344.)
Here is a more curious case. Sir R. Heron during
many years kept an account of the habits
of the peafowl, which he bred in large numbers.
He states that "the hens have frequently
great preference to a particular peafowl. They
were all so fond of an old pied cock, that one
year, when he was confined, though still in
view, they were constantly assembled close to
the trellice-walls of his prison, and would not
suffer a japanned peacock to touch them. On
his being let out in the autumn, the oldest of the
hens instantly courted him and was successful
in her courtship. The next year he was shut up
in a stable, and then the hens all courted his
rival." (26. 'Proceedings, Zoological Society,'
1835, p. 54. The japanned peacock is considered