The Descent of Man

space than all the rest of the bird, and was evidently
the grand feature in the performance.
Whilst one male was descending, the other
would shoot up and come slowly down expanded.
The entertainment would end in a fight
between the two performers; but whether the
most beautiful or the most pugnacious was the
accepted suitor, I know not." Mr. Gould, after
describing the peculiar plumage of the Urosticte,
adds, "that ornament and variety is the sole
object, I have myself but little doubt." (55. 'Introduction
to the Trochilidae,' 1861, p. 110.) If
this be admitted, we can perceive that the males
which during former times were decked in
the most elegant and novel manner would have
gained an advantage, not in the ordinary struggle
for life, but in rivalry with other males, and
would have left a larger number of offspring to
inherit their newly- acquired beauty.