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The Descent of Man

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differ fundamentally from ours. From these<br />

various considerations we may conclude that<br />

the pairing <strong>of</strong> birds is not left to chance; but<br />

that those males, which are best able by their<br />

various charms to please or excite the female,<br />

are under ordinary circumstances accepted. If<br />

this be admitted, there is not much difficulty in<br />

understanding how male birds have gradually<br />

acquired their ornamental characters. All animals<br />

present individual differences, and as<br />

man can modify his domesticated birds by selecting<br />

the individuals which appear to him the<br />

most beautiful, so the habitual or even occasional<br />

preference by the female <strong>of</strong> the more attractive<br />

males would almost certainly lead to their<br />

modification; and such modifications might in<br />

the course <strong>of</strong> time be augmented to almost any<br />

extent, compatible with the existence <strong>of</strong> the<br />

species.

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