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Sexual selection
Summary
Although natural selection could explain the differences between species, Darwin realised that (other than in the reproductive organs themselves) it could not explain the often marked differences between the males and females of the same species. So what…
Matches: 5 hits
- … bright and drab plumage of so many male and female birds? Darwin proposed that these …
- … factor in sexual selection: ‘charm’. The two sexes in birds often not only looked strikingly …
- … sexual characters, especially colour, in insects and birds , than sexual selection. He argued …
- … of male mammals, or in gaudy plumage & ornaments as with birds & butterflies? . . . what I …
- … with quiet irony that the same gaudy feathers used by male birds to attract females are worn not by …
Arthur Mellersh
Summary
Arthur Mellersh was a midshipman (promoted to mate during the voyage) serving on the Beagle at the time when Darwin was travelling around the world. One account suggests an inauspicious start to their friendship; apparently Mellersh introduced himself…
Matches: 1 hits
- … observations on fossils. He also enquired about some birds they had seen in Patagonia (Mellersh …
William Yarrell
Summary
William Yarrell was a London businessman, a stationer and bookseller, who became an expert on British birds and fish, writing standard reference works on both. He was a member of several science and natural history societies, including the Linnean Society…
Darwin’s reading notebooks
Summary
In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to read in Notebook C (Notebooks, pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in separate notebooks. The first of these reading notebooks (DAR 119…
Matches: 26 hits
- … [Rengger 1830]— account of wild cattle Montagu on birds [G. Montagu 1802–13]— facts about …
- … catalogues of quadrupeds of the Dekhan [Sykes 1832a] & Birds [Sykes 1834]. Zoolog. Proceedings …
- … written on wheat [Le Couteur 1836] Bechstein on Caged Birds. 10 s 6 d . translated by …
- … ].— [DAR *119: 8v.] A history of British Birds by W. Macgillivray [W. Macgillivray …
- … 1794–6]— Yarrell probably has it. account of habits of birds. Temminck Manuel D’ornithologie. …
- … Taylor 1651] [DAR *119: 13v.] Yarrel’s Birds [Yarrell 1843] (1 Vol read) …
- … Society (read) Goulds Kangaroos [Gould 1841–2]— Birds of Himalaya [Gould 1834] (& of …
- … well worth studying for variation any very good monograph of Birds from distant countries …
- … per vol.) reduced to 5 s 1834–43 1. Humming Birds, Vol. 1 [Jardine 1833]. 3. …
- … is going to publish one. 45 Gosse. Birds of Jamaica [Gosse 1847], recommended by Yarrel …
- … 1849. Jan. Marten on Transportal of seeds by Birds [Martins 1849]. 53 [DAR 119: …
- … [W. Bartram 1791] May 18 Stanley Familiar Hist. of Birds [E. Stanley 1835] Mackintosh …
- … [Baly and Kirkes 1848] 17 th Thompson’s Birds of Ireland [W. Thompson 1842] Part I. …
- … Voyage [Ross 1847]. Oct 5. Gould Introduct. to Birds of Australia [Gould 1848] —— 20 …
- … Harcourt has published account of Madeira with list of Birds ( some migratory ) [Harcourt 1851]. …
- … Appendix &c must be read; I see many references to Domestic Birds &c read Belon Hist …
- … Boltons Harmonia Ruralis [Bolton 1794–6]. Habits of Birds Yarrell has.?— Ramond Acad. of Sci. …
- … Linn. Soc.? must be read.— not in Royal. Gosse Birds of Jamaica [Gosse 1847]— account of wild …
- … Horses & Hybrids [DAR *128: 157] Yarrells Birds [Yarrell 1843] vol 2 & 3 …
- … thence I have read in Journals June 10 th Goulds Birds of Australia [Gould 1848]. — …
- … 1789–95] 1 vol. —— E. Albins Nat. Hist. of Birds 1734 [Albin 1731–8]. Mar 1 Veith …
- … [Aldrovandi 1599–1603] —— Lathams History of Birds. vol on Pigeons & Fowls [J. Latham …
- … and Silvestre de Sacy, eds.] 1776–1814] 11 Gosse Birds of Jamaica [Gosse 1847] 12 …
- … [1833–42].— Nov. 12. Yarrell’s British Birds [Yarrell 1843]. Dec. 29 th Annales des …
- … Albin, Eleazar. 1731–8. A natural history of birds . 3 vols. London. 128: 16 Alder, …
- … biography; or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, …
Alfred Russel Wallace’s essay on varieties
Summary
The original manuscript about varieties that Wallace composed on the island of Gilolo and sent to Darwin from the neighbouring island of Ternate (Brooks 1984) has not been found. It was sent to Darwin as an enclosure in a letter (itself missing), and was…
Matches: 9 hits
- … For example, our own observation must convince us that birds do not go on increasing every year in a …
- … not some powerful check to their natural increase. Very few birds produce less than two young ones …
- … calculation will show that in fifteen years each pair of birds would have increased to nearly ten …
- … is evident, therefore, that each year an immense number of birds must perish—as many in fact as are …
- … the limited fecundity, nor the unrestrained attacks of birds of prey and of man are here sufficient …
- … the supply of food in the least favourable seasons. Many birds can only exist by migrating, when …
- … or at least a different climate, though, as these migrating birds are seldom excessively abundant, …
- … in the tropics they are among the most abundant of solitary birds. Thus the house sparrow is more …
- … Why, as a general rule, are aquatic, and especially sea birds, very numerous in individuals? Not …
Rewriting Origin - the later editions
Summary
For such an iconic work, the text of Origin was far from static. It was a living thing that Darwin continued to shape for the rest of his life, refining his ‘one long argument’ through a further five English editions. Many of his changes were made in…
Beauty and the seed
Summary
One of the real pleasures afforded in reading Charles Darwin’s correspondence is the discovery of areas of research on which he never published, but which interested him deeply. We can gain many insights about Darwin’s research methods by following these …
Matches: 12 hits
- … by every one. But this beauty serves merely as a guide to birds and beasts, that the fruit may be …
- … covered with any thing which c d prove attractive to birds. I rec d some seeds the day after …
- … is so thin that I can hardly believe it w d lead birds to devour them; & so it was in an …
- … but the seeds are exceptionally hard and since gallinaceous birds often swallow small stones in …
- … purpose when swallowed by our Jacús ( Penelope ) or other birds.’ ( see the letter ) By this …
- … to me why these seeds & pods, hang long & look gorgeous, if Birds only grind up the seeds, …
- … is to imitate a scarlet insect & thus attract insectivorous birds, or frugiferous perchers, of …
- … one, & it would be easy to ascertain how far it is a prey to birds. Hooker, J. D. …
- … can hardly admit your wriggle of the seeds being devoured by birds with weak gizzards:’ he did …
- … p. 177.) Like Darwin, Galetti tested seeds on captive birds, and even used guans (the bird …
- … hypothesis that the seeds might be used as grit by galliform birds was rejected. Another possibility …
- … that these seeds are parasitic, that is they deceive naïve birds by mimicking similar-looking fleshy …
Expression
Summary
Darwin's interest in emotional expression can be traced as far back as the Beagle voyage. He was fascinated by the different sounds and gestures among the peoples of Tierra del Fuego, and on his return from the voyage he started recording observations…
Matches: 1 hits
- … of any fact about expression of any emotion in any of your birds. ' J. J. Weir described …
Mauro Galetti: profile of an ecologist
Summary
Mauro Galetti solved Darwin’s puzzle of the ‘bright seeds’. This is what he told us about becoming an ecologist.
Matches: 4 hits
- … to watch other organisms in the forest, such as squirrels, birds, capuchin monkeys and, of course, …
- … a few by ants, but most of them (in Brazil) are dispersed by birds or mammals. My second favorite …
- … and van der Pijl, that some fruits ‘tried’ to mislead birds and evolved colourful fruits but no …
- … seeds and placed them on the ground to see whether wild birds would take them. Later, I decided to …
Before Origin: the ‘big book’
Summary
Darwin began ‘sorting notes for Species Theory’ on 9 September 1854, the very day he concluded his eight-year study of barnacles (Darwin's Journal). He had long considered the question of species. In 1842, he outlined a theory of transmutation in a…
Matches: 5 hits
- … & gulled’ by the sellers from whom he intended to purchase birds. Fancy pigeons, that is, those …
- … fancy pigeons proved enjoyable and enlightening , and the birds were a delight to his young …
- … that the very active young crawled on and adhered to birds’ feet, where they could survive out of …
- … whether seeds were transported in earth stuck to birds’ feet . In addition, he requested …
- … hawks in the Zoological Gardens . He was delighted when the birds ‘behaved like gentlemen’ and ‘ …
Was Darwin an ecologist?
Summary
One of the most fascinating aspects of Charles Darwin’s correspondence is the extent to which the experiments he performed at his home in Down, in the English county of Kent, seem to prefigure modern scientific work in ecology.
Matches: 3 hits
Women’s scientific participation
Summary
Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…
Matches: 6 hits
- … to observe the expression of emotion in her pet dog and birds. Letter 5817 - Darwin …
- … her observational work on butterflies and offers to observe birds, insects or plants on Darwin’s …
- … and “cannot keep these flowers in the room” without the birds attacking the buds and flowers. …
- … is undertaking in his home to test Wallace’s theory that birds reject highly-coloured caterpillars. …
- … is undertaking in his home to test Wallace’s theory that birds reject highly-coloured caterpillars. …
- … her observational work on butterflies and offers to observe birds, insects or plants on Darwin’s …
Strange things sent to Darwin in the post
Summary
Some of the stranger things Darwin received in the post can tell us a lot about how Darwin worked at home. In 1863, Darwin was very excited when the ornithologist Alfred Newton sent him a diseased, red-legged partridge foot with an enormous ball of clay…
Darwin, cats and cat shows
Summary
One of the more unusual invitations Darwin received was to be a patron of the Crystal Palace cat show, the first nationwide cat show in Britain. The man who first came up with the idea for the show, Harrison Weir, was one of Darwin’s correspondents, as…
Matches: 1 hits
- … pigeons himself, and Tegetmeier and Weir provided him with birds and a great deal of advice. John …
Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex
Summary
The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…
Matches: 5 hits
- … the same species, such as the brilliant plumage of some male birds and the huge mandibles of male …
- … to ‘call to mind any facts bearing on this subject with Birds, insects or any animals’. Weir showed …
- … piped a German waltz and was much admired for it by other birds. Fritz Müller sent information on …
- … suggested several experiments to test the colour sense of birds. On 17 March , he encouraged …
- … who had recently argued for the protective role of colour in birds, suggesting that females had been …
4.36 Sem, Chistmas card
Summary
< Back to Introduction An unattributed watercolour drawing of Darwin shows him dapperly dressed in a tail coat, but walking on all fours like an animal, his lean figure bent over in an arch and filling the space. It is inscribed ‘With Compliments of…
Matches: 1 hits
- … into a quadruped ancestor complements the many cats, dogs, birds and other animals performing human …
'An Appeal' against animal cruelty
Summary
The four-page pamphlet transcribed below and entitled 'An Appeal', was composed jointly by Emma and Charles Darwin (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [29 September 1863]). The pamphlet, which protested against the cruelty of steel vermin…
Matches: 6 hits
- … inflicted by the traps, and the large variety of mammals and birds trapped by them, including ' …
- … sport of shooting partridges, pheasants, and other game-birds (Carr 1981, pp. 475–6, Mackenzie 1988, …
- … was encapsulated in the 'battue', in which large numbers of birds were driven from bushes …
- … classes (Thompson 1981, p. 459). On country estates game-birds began to be reared on a large scale …
- … and other predators had to be controlled to protect the game-birds, and the new coverts provided …
- … to prevent the wholesale slaughter of categories of wild birds by sportsmen (Sheail 1976, pp. 22–7, …
Darwin in letters, 1837–1843: The London years to 'natural selection'
Summary
The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage was one of extraordinary activity and productivity in which he became recognised as a naturalist of outstanding ability, as an author and editor, and as a professional…
4.51 Frederick Holder 'Life and Work'
Summary
< Back to Introduction A popular biography of Darwin for young readers by the American naturalist Charles Frederick Holder, published in 1891, sought to present him as ‘an example to the youth of all lands’ (p. v). Thus ‘our hero’ was shown to have…
Matches: 1 hits
- … when alone he stood still or walked stealthily to observe birds and beasts. It was on one of these …
4.41 'Punch', Sambourne cartoon 2
Summary
< Back to Introduction In October 1881, Darwin was included in Linley Sambourne’s series of ‘Punch’s Fancy Portraits’ of celebrities as No. 54. While the caption recurs to the old theme of Darwin’s views on human ancestry, the drawing contains a more…
Matches: 1 hits
- … hamper, while servants rake together the mounds of dead game birds. physical location …
