The Descent of Man

tails of considerable length. The females as well
as the males of the Menura superba have long
tails, and they build a domed nest, which is a
great anomaly in so large a bird. Naturalists
have wondered how the female Menura could
manage her tail during incubation; but it is now
known (8. Mr. Ramsay, in 'Proc. Zoolog. Soc.'
1868, p. 50.) that she "enters the nest head first,
and then turns round with her tail sometimes
over her back, but more often bent round by
her side. Thus in time the tail becomes quite
askew, and is a tolerable guide to the length of
time the bird has been sitting." Both sexes of an
Australian kingfisher (Tanysiptera sylvia) have
the middle tail-feathers greatly lengthened, and
the female makes her nest in a hole; and as I am
informed by Mr. R.B. Sharpe these feathers become
much crumpled during incubation.
In these two latter cases the great length of the
tail-feathers must be in some degree inconvenient
to the female; and as in both species the