The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online

RECORD: Darwin, C. R. n.d. Male & female of 2 sp. of Marabou Stork do not differ in plumage. CUL-DAR84.2.201. Edited by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and edited by John van Wyhe 3.2022. 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 volumes CUL-DAR80-86 contain material for Darwin's book Descent of man (1871).

Darwin cited this in Descent 2: 206, n25: "The New Zealand shieldrake (Tadorna variegata) offers a quite anomalous case: the head of the female is pure white, and her back is redder than that of the male; the head of the male is of a rich dark bronzed colour, and his back is clothed with finely pencilled slate-coloured feathers, so that he may altogether be considered as the more beautiful of the two. He is larger and more pugnacious than the female, and does not sit on the eggs. So that in all these respects this species comes under our first class of cases; but Mr. Sclater ('Proc. Zool. Soc.' 1866, p. 150) was much surprised to observe that the young of both sexes, when about three months old, resembled in their dark heads and necks the adult males, instead of the adult females; so that it would appear in this case that the females have been modified, whilst the males and the young have retained a former state of plumage."

[201]

Sexual Selection

Male & female of 2 sp. of Marabou Stork do not differ in plumage, but female has yellow iris & male has black - Difficult case.

Blyth says that in the 3 species of Rhynchæa (snipe) in which female far more beautiful it is not known that male sits: but this is case with Turnix - With Tadorna variegata the young resemble male in plumage & there is like ->

[201v]

case known to Sclater See Zoolog. Proc. about Tadorna. 1866 p. 150 March 13th

Passer montanus is another case (if so change be comes on soon) I think Marabou Stork has great crest if so crest common to both sexes

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