THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2527, 20 August 1902, Page 64

THE NATURALIST.

Alniorinul Sexual Variation in fliiinagre.

Mr W. B. Tegetmeier writes in tie Field on the above subject : — The sexual vaiiations that occur in the p'.umage of some species of birds are exceptionally remarkable. The conditions under which hens assume the plumage of males and thos^ und?r which males assume the plumage of females — variations which are hereditary in many breeds, and apparently accidental in others, which occur in some instances from disease, and in others 1(O t g O _are, to &ay the least of it, interesting and puzzling." These occurrences are more readily studied m birds which are in a state of domestication than in such _as are wild, but they occur in both. The assumption of male plumage by lien pheasants has long been knotvn to naturalists and gamekeepers, the latter of whom usually call these birds mules, from their being barren. This change oi plumage in the hen pheasant is almost invariably associated with melanotic disease of the cvarium. Ifc was noticed' and figured by Yarrell. A similar assumption of male plumage by female birds has been noticed in the domestic duck, and not infrequently in farmyard fowls. In all these cases, it is needless* to say, the bird is barren, and, once having assumed the male plumage, it is continued during subsequent moults, if the bird is aMowed to live.

A moie interesting change is that of tjie male bird assuming the female plumage, and in some instances this state of things is hereditary. There are breeds of fowls m wlm-h the males habitually wear the female att«e. The most remarkable example of this is in certain breeds of game fowls, which aie called bennies. This change is not accompanied by any loss of feitility nor of irusc-iiline courage. The hennies were rcmaikuble ns being amongst tho most dangerous birds in the cock-jiit. Hector, a well-known "hen cock.' 1 was remarkable as having been the victor in a. Welsh main, the most severe test of the prowess and valour of a cock that can possibly be imagined. A Welsh main consisted of an even number of birds, say 16. Of these the eight victors fought again, and to on to the end. The main was won by the conqueror in the final battle, which position was gained in one instance by Hector. A wellknown breeder of these birds for practical yurposes, describing their courage and mode of fighting, says that nothing equal" the first dash of two "lien -cooks'' when pitted, and that he lias seen both killed within a few seconds after leaving the setters' hands. The origin of these hen-fe ithered birds I should attribute to an accidental variation, of the causes of which, like those of other ■variation", we know absolutely nothing. I am possibly the only person who can describe from actual observation the production of a strain of henny game fowl from a full-plumaged bird. Many years ago I was an exhibitor of game fowls, and possessed a set of brown-red game bantams with which I won prizes at large shows at the Crystal Palace and elsewhere. T\\k best of these birds, which I retained for breeding, was a full-pluniaged brownbreasted red game cock. In moulting, after winning at the P.tlaoe. he, to my gueat sin prise, assumed the perfect, plumage of the hen. Fiom what cau«3 Ido not know ;

it certainly was neither from disease nor wnnt e>f fertility, nor from want of combativeness*. I retained him, but he was no longer fit for exhibition, as there were no poultry shows where prizes were given for henny game. As a matter of scientific interest I retained him, and bied solely from him to ascertain the plumage his progeny woald assume. Some of his descendants were full-phimaged cocks resembling himself in his- first attire. Others of the males were purely henf^achered birds. These, when bred from in subsequent years, als) produced henfeathered, cocks. I kept the original bijd which had altered Ins plumage until his death, winch took place two years afterward--, and he continued to renew the hen plumage annually. By an accident his body <ifter death was lost, but fortunately I had a photograph taken of him during life. I m.iy add that he'iny gamecocks of full size are still reared and retained for piactical purposes