File:The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex (1871) (14760092836).jpg

Identifier: descentofmansele02darw (find matches)
Title: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex
Year: 1871 (1870s)
Authors: Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882
Subjects: Evolution Natural selection Heredity Human beings -- Origin Evolution
Publisher: London, J. Murray
Contributing Library: MBLWHOI Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MBLWHOI Library

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nearest to the body stand more upright than the outer ones, 144 SEXUAL SELECTION : BIRDS. Part II. served that each ocellus stands in obvious connectionwith a dark stripe, or row of dark spots, for both occurindifferently on the same feather. Thus in fig. bQ stripeA runs to ocellus a; B runs to ocellus h; stripe C isbroken in the upper part, and runs down to the nextsucceeding ocellus, not represented in the woodcut; I)to the next lower one, and so with the stripes E and F. Lastly, the several ocelliare separated from eachother by a pale surfacebearing irregular blackmarks. I will next describethe other extreme of theseries, namely the firsttrace of an ocellus. Theshort secondary wing-feather (fig. 57), nearestto the bodv, is markedlike the other feathers,witli oblique, longitudi-nal, rather irregular, rowsof spots. The lowest spot,or that nearest the shaft,in the five lower rows (ex-cluding the basal row) isa little laro;er than theother spots in the same row, and a little more elon-
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Fig. 57. Basal part of the Secondary wing-feather, nearest to the bod^. SO that the shading cf the ball-and-socket ocelli ought to be slightlydifferent on the different feathers, in order to bring out their full effect,relatively to the incidence of the light. Mr. T. W. Wood, who has theexperien<-ed eye of an artist, asserts ( Field, Newspaper, May 28,1870,p. 457) that this is the case; but after carefully examining two mountt dspecimens (the proj^er feathers from one having been given to me byMr. Gould for more accurate comparison) I cannot perceive that thisacme of perfection in the shading has beeu attained; nor can othersto whom I have shewn these feathers recognise the fact. Chap. XIV. GRADATION OF CHARACTERS. 145 gated in a transverse direction. It differs also fromthe other spots by being bordered on its upper sidewith some dull fulvous shading. But this spot is not inany way more remarkable than those on the plumageof many birds, and might easily be quite overlooked.The nex

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