xxii ILLUSTRATIONS 



VACINQ 

 PAGB 



Turkeys are famous for their road-making . . .114 



The partridge, a road-builder of California . . .115 



A kingfisher in the act of swallowing his prey . .132 



A rose-breasted grosbeak feeding her young . .133 



The owl and the crow in close conversation . . .146 



The toucan, with his extraordinary saw-edged bill, can 



well defend himself . . . . . .14? 



Humming-birds are most at home among the orchids of 



tlie tropics, and are as varied in form and colour 



as are the orchids themselves (m Colours) . .162 



The American crossbill on a twig that sets him off to the 



greatest advantage . . . . . .168 



The oriole's "beauty parlour" is his unique home . l69 



The osprey rarely fishes for himself, as he finds it easier 



to waylay other fishers and rob them (in Colours) 188 

 "Every minute of the day numbers of fish are brought 



by the parent birds to their ever hungry young." 



(White pelicans) 192 



Brown pelicans often use strategy in their fishing . .193 



The sandhill cranes in their natural habitat . . . 202 



The wood-duck fishes in small ponds . . . 203 



The ptarmigan changes the colour of his feathers to 



match the background ..... 208 



The birds of the Far North who adapt their plumage to 



the changing snow-fields ..... 209 

 A mother grouse of the Sierras, California . . . 220 



Young marsh hawks safely hidden away in the tall grass 221 



