RECORD: Darwin, C. R. [1870-1871]. Draft of Descent, Birds. Chap. 13. CUL-DAR157.42. Edited by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and edited by John van Wyhe 5.2023. RN2

NOTE: See record in the Darwin Online manuscript catalogue, enter its Identifier here. Reproduced with permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library and William Huxley Darwin. The volume CUL-DAR157 consists of Darwin book draft leaves that were preserved by the family. Draft is in the hand of Ebenezer Norman, with corrections by Darwin. This manuscript was sold at Sotheby's. Valuable historical manuscripts including science and printed books...28th March, 1983. London. Lot 145. GBP 880. Buyer: Quaritch. The text of the draft corresponds to Descent 2: 70.


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42

Birds Chap. 13

"the ground until at last the female goes gently towards him." Captain Stokes has described the habits and "play-houses" of another species, the Great Bower-bird, which was seen "amusing itself by (245 flying backwards and forwards, taking a shell alternately from each side, and carrying it through the archway in its mouth."

These curious structures, formed solely as halls of assemblages, where both sexes amuse themselves and pay their court, must cost the birds much labour in their formation; for instance the bowers instance of the Fawn-breasted species, is nearly four feet in length, eighteen inches in height, and is raised on a very thick platform of sticks. They are formed solely as halls of assemblage, when the sexes, amuse themselves, perform their love-antics, and pay their court.

Decoration ─ I will first discuss the cases in which the males are ornamented, or are ornamented in a much higher degree than the females; and afterwards those in which both sexes are equally decorated ornamented, and finally the rare cases in which the female is rather somewhat more brightly-coloured than the male. As with the artificial ornaments used by savage and civilised races of men, so with the natural ornaments of birds,

[in margin in another hand:] "The Descent of Man" 1st edition vol 2 pp 70/71


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Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

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