Carl Sandburg in one of his lighter moments--or perhaps rueful might be more appropriate?
Phizzog
This face you got,
This here phizzog you carry around,
You never picked it out for yourself,
at all, at all--did you?
This here phizzog--somebody handed it
to you--am I right?
Somebody said, "Here's yours, now go see
what you can do with it."
Somebody slipped it to you and it was like
a package marked:
"No goods exchanged after being taken away"--
This face you got.
-- Carl Sandburg --
Some are winners, some losers. I guess the best I can say about my prize is that I'm glad I'm on the inside looking out.
I have always wondered if animals judge each other's appearance based on beauty. I'd think they already judge based on "fitness" and "dominance," but I'm not sure if beauty comes into play at all. Have you ever read or heard anything about this?
ReplyDeleteCheryl,
ReplyDeleteAs the saying goes, supposedly, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Perhaps. Sometimes it's in the nose.
I can't say beauty, but considerable research has shown that attractiveness has been shown to be related to appearance, smell, stamina, singing ability, nest-building skills, and so on. Take your pick of attributes: at least one critter has chosen it.
Below is a link to Science News Magazine. I've had a subscription to it for decades now. Check it out. I'm sure you will find many research findings that focus on what attracts one critter to another.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/home