The Descent of Man

ment made by Sir R. Heron should not be forgotten,
namely, that his peahens, when debarred
from access to the pied peacock, would not
unite with any other male, and during that season
produced no offspring. Nor is it strange
that variations in the tail-feathers of the Urosticte
should have been specially selected for the
sake of ornament, for the next succeeding genus
in the family takes its name of Metallura
from the splendour of these feathers. We have,
moreover, good evidence that humming-birds
take especial pains in displaying their tailfeathers;
Mr. Belt (54. 'The Naturalist in Nicaragua,'
1874, p. 112.), after describing the beauty
of the Florisuga mellivora, says, "I have seen
the female sitting on a branch, and two males
displaying their charms in front of her. One
would shoot up like a rocket, then suddenly
expanding the snow-white tail, like an inverted
parachute, slowly descend in front of her, turning
round gradually to shew off back and
front…The expanded white tail covered more