RECORD: Darwin, C. R. [1838]. Notebook C: 113, 114, 141, 142, 115, 116 (excised pages). CUL-DAR208.23. Edited by John van Wyhe (The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
REVISION HISTORY: Text prepared and edited by John van Wyhe 6.2025. RN1
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-DAR208 contains notebook leaves excised by Darwin.
Notebook C: Transmutation. Text & image CUL-DAR122.-
113
with Chionis), yet the Tropic bird, has very different habits, though pre-eminently belonging to this type.
?Humming bird? the woodpecker Gould says he believes does but also on fruit.—
The Rasorial type is wonderfully shown in the long legged cuckoos with claw like lark (one in Australia is called swamp pheasant) goatsucker, parrots with claw like lark (N.B. The 'La jeune veuve parrot though so much on the ground has not this structure, instance of habit going before structure).—
114
even one Kingfisher Gould has seen with long tarsi.— ground woodpecker Secretary bird.— & Mellisuga Kingii very rasorial for type.— Now here I must observe these characters vary in degree in last instance hardly at all developed. not confined to one species, but generally small genus ?are there not many ground parrots? are there not many ground wood-peckers?.—
In each division Gould thinks he can trace structure for insects & structure for vegetation.—
141
have elapsed.— let these families take domestic animals with them they might be supposed to change & make genera of birds analogous, animals would be possessed by the different races of man, yet altogether different.— To make this case perfect, we must suppose men instead of mere colour & trifling form & lead on to become greatly changed in structure & even to certain degree in habits, yet we may have there analogies.— We must [try] races of such men living in same country but separated, now
142
if one or the other race had become eminently aquatic, (N.B. aquatic i.e. relation to element & not minding particular trades.) — then the second race would not obtain a cast of washing men, but might have the preexisting race, thus the analogy would not in all cases be produced. but would depend on exclusion.—
11
The same characters which are analogical in a genus with respect to rest of its family as in ground cuckoos, is affinity with respect to species of each other, because we suppose all descended from same.— but if two original species, each became ground, then the relation of all the ground cuckoos would not be affinity, but the truth would never be discovered.
115
In conversation in Museum I could not discover any other clear relations besides aerial, & terrestrial — How is it in water birds. there are walking forms in water birds.— but no web forms in water land birds.— Groups of very different value have their representatives, the rasorial may be observed even in Lessonia &c. &c.
In relations of affinity all organs change together, in analogy certain parts perfect of typical structure certain imper parts changed
116
Has not S. Africa & Australia, & S. America very few forms in common, but each several with Europe & northern Asia, & Northern America.— may we not look at these Northern regions as the receptacles of the wanderers out of the rest of the world? — Will this not agree with Waterhouse1 & birds mammalia.— We have clear indication
1 George Robert Waterhouse contributed the section on Mammalia in the Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle, London, 1839, i.e., published after this note was written by Darwin.
Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
File last updated 1 July, 2025