246 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



hasn't all been worked out, yet. There isn't any 

 doubt that some birds are protectively colored. 

 Take the Chuck-Will's- Widow, for example." 



Shan nodded, he knew all about that bird. 



*'Then," the Feather Man continued, "there's 

 no doubt that some chicks seem to be born pro- 

 tectively colored, quite different in appearance 

 from their parents. There 's no denying the truth 

 of Thayer's rule that if a bird is dark-colored 

 above and light-colored below he will be harder to 

 see than if he were uniformly colored. There's 

 no denying that the birds which are very con- 

 spicuously colored, like the Crow and the King- 

 fisher, generally are birds well able to look after 

 themselves. As a general rule, female birds are 

 highly protective in coloration. Nevertheless, I 

 cannot agree with those naturalists who endeavor 

 to explain all the colors of birds on this one sim- 

 ple idea. 



''If the theory held true in all cases, then little 

 birds like Warblers should be protectively colored, 

 and foe-free birds like Eagles, should be gay. If 

 it were true in all cases, birds would be less 

 brightly colored during the breeding season, when 

 their labors are more greatly needed for feeding 

 the nestlings, and when danger would be tenfold 



