Excerpt from Natural Selection and Tropical Nature: Essays on Descriptive and Theoretical Biology The present volume consists mainly of a reprint of two volumes of essays - Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection, which appeared in 1870, with a second edition in 1871, and has now been many years out of print; and, Tropical Nature and Other Essays, which appeared in 1878. In preparing a new edition of these works to appear as a single volume I have thought it advisable to omit two essays - that on "The Malayan Papilionidæ" as being too technical for general readers, and that on "The Distribution of Animals as indicating Geographical Changes," which contains nothing that is not more fully treated in my other works. Another essay - "By - Paths in the Domain of Biology" - has also been partly omitted, one portion of it forming a short chapter on "The Antiquity and Origin of Man," while another portion has been incorporated in the chapter on "The Colours of Animals and Sexual Selection." More than compensating for these omissions are two new chapters - "The Antiquity of Man in North America" and 'The Debt of Science to Darwin." Many corrections and some important additions have been made to the text, the chief of which are indicated in the table given below; and to facilitate reference the two original works have separate headings, and form Parts I. and II. of the present volume. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Natural Selection and Tropical Nature: Essays on Descriptive and Theoretical Biology Additional facts as to birds acquiring the song of other species Mr. Spruce s remarks on young birds pairing with old ouchets observations on a change in the nests of swallows. Assage omitted about nest of Golden Crested Warbler, which had been in serted on Rennie's authority, but has not been confirmed by any later oh servers. Daines Barrington, on importance of pro tection to the female bird Note A. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This early work by Alfred Russel Wallace was originally published in 1895 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Natural Selection and Tropical Nature Essays on Descriptive and Theoretical Biology' is a collection of essays that detail Wallace's observations of various bird species and outlines some of his ideas relating to evolutionary theory. Alfred Russel Wallace was born on 8th January 1823 in the village of Llanbadoc, in Monmouthshire, Wales. Wallace was inspired by the travelling naturalists of the day and decided to begin his exploration career collecting specimens in the Amazon rainforest. He explored the Rio Negra for four years, making notes on the peoples and languages he encountered as well as the geography, flora, and fauna. While travelling, Wallace refined his thoughts about evolution and in 1858 he outlined his theory of natural selection in an article he sent to Charles Darwin. Wallace made a huge contribution to the natural sciences and he will continue to be remembered as one of the key figures in the development of evolutionary theory.

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The facts of variability, of the struggle for existence, of adaptation to conditions, were notorious enough; but none of us had suspected that the road to the heart of the species problem lay through them, until Darwin and Wallace dispelled the darkness.T H Huxley (1887). Darwin is one of the most famous scientists in history. But he was not alone. Comparatively forgotten, Wallace independently discovered evolution by natural selection in Southeast Asia. This book is based on the most thorough research ever conducted on Wallace's voyage. Closely connected, but worlds apart, Darwin and Wallace's stories hold many surprises. Did Darwin really keep his theory a secret for twenty years? Did he plagiarise Wallace? Were their theories really the same? How did Wallace hit on the solution, and on which island? This book reveals for the first time the true story of Darwin, Wallace and the discovery that would change our understanding of life on Earth forever.