222 THE HUMAN SIDE OF BIRDS 



will attract an observer's attention while the female 

 silently enters the nest. 



Thus we see that nature has bountifully supplied 

 her feathered creatures with instinct and intelli- 

 gence sufficient to baffle their enemies, including 

 man himself. Every variety of bird has some pe- 

 culiar way of defending itself and its nest. Those 

 that lay their eggs on bare, exposed situations use 

 distracting motions. Birds that nest in deep for- 

 ests or thickets are adepts at silence: this is their 

 protection; while predaceous birds employ warlike 

 methods, and birds of a general habitat resort to 

 mimicry, not a few of them having the additional 

 accomplishment of ventriloquy. Wherever these 

 marvellous little beings are found they exercise a 

 God-given craftiness in their own protection. They 

 are another thing for man to reflect on when he 

 grows arrogant in his own wisdom. 



