The Courtship of Animals

by W. P. Pycraft

[Face page 96.

The Argus Pheasant is an even more wonderful performer than the two preceding species. In this bird, it should be remarked, the tail and the secondary wing-feathers are enormously lengthened, the latter to an extent met with in no other bird, showing that the struggle for existence cannot be very severe with this species. For if long journeys had to be undertaken in search of food, or to avoid extremes of climate, or enemies had to be swiftly escaped, such cumbersome wings would lead to speedy extermination. But an even more remarkable feature of these wings is their wonderful coloration. The primaries have blue shafts, and a most delicately mottled pattern formed by spots of reddish chocolate on cream-coloured ground, while the secondaries have their broad webs ornamented with large ocelli, to be described in greater detail presently. When under the influence of sexual excitement Darwin tells us, the wings are so spread as to form a deep concavity, an effect which is gained by pressing the primaries close to the ground, and turning the elbows upwards. Within this concavity lie the ocelli, in radiating vertical rows. But to produce this effect the bird has to turn its head under its wing, so that it lies behind the screen. Hence it cannot see the female which is the object of these captivating antics. As a consequence, to discover whether he has an audience for she will often walk disdainfully away—he has constantly to thrust his head through the curtain, and hence many of the feathers in this region get much worn.

By nature it would seem the Argus Pheasant is a very solitary bird, though we must assume it is polygamous. As the breeding season advances, however, the male proceeds to choose some open space in the depths of the forest—which it never leaves—and therefrom to clear all the dead leaves, and twigs, for a space of some six or eight yards square, so that nothing but the bare earth remains, and thereafter this area is kept scrupulously clean. Here, in solitary state, for a short season he remains, calling at frequent intervals to advertise the fact that an eligible male is in the neighbourhood desiring mates. A dozen times in succession he will break the stillness of the forest gloom with a loud, “How-how, how, how, how!” Sooner or later comes a responsive, “How-owoo, how-owoo!” and in a short time, guided by the sound, one or more females discover the object of their quest. But the pairing desire has not yet reached its full intensity, and doubtless to kindle this the display just described is enacted, and not once, but a dozen times probably, before the desired state of frenzy has been aroused. Not seldom another male answers the cry, and this inevitably leads to a duel whereby the fittest and strongest male is speedily discovered.

A word as to these ocelli. This pattern is rare among birds, and Darwin brought to light some extremely interesting facts regarding it. He was led to investigate the matter by his curiosity as to the meaning of the notch in the ocelli of the Peacock’s train-feathers. At last he noticed that among the different species of Peacock Pheasants there was one (Polyplectron chinquis), in which the ocelli were paired, one lying on either side of the shaft, in another (P. malaccense) these approached and partly fused with one another. Now, to get the indented ocellus of the Peacock, we have only to imagine the fusion of two such ocelli, whose long axes inclined obliquely to one another, to get the “eye” of the Peacock with its indented lower edge; for such fusion would give a continuous upper and an indented lower border.

The “eyes” of the Argus Pheasant are more interesting still, for, as Darwin pointed out, these have the appearance, if the feathers are held more or less vertically, of a number of balls lying each within a socket, or cup: for each of these balls has a light area which exactly simulates the light glancing across the upper pole of a sphere, leaving the rest in shadow; and, singularly enough, this effect is produced in the living bird only when the feathers are erected for display. The probable steps in the evolution of these ocelli from simple spots, and through elliptical bars, Darwin traced with his usual skill and insight, and those who would follow this up should turn to that wonderful book, “The Descent of Man.”

Plate 17.

PATTERNS WHICH PUZZLED DARWIN.

The notch in the “eyes” of the Peacock’s train-feathers puzzled Darwin till he met with the ocelli of the Peacock-pheasant. The left-hand lower figure represents the ocellus of the Argus, the right-hand that of the Peacock-pheasant.

[Face page 98.