306 The Bird 



Let us glance at one more bird upon her nest, — a Laugh- 

 ing Gull. At a distance we see a shapeless blotch of white 

 sand among the reeds, that is all. We walk over a hundred 

 other similar patches; but when near enough, w^e at 

 last are able to distinguish the dark head and wing-tips, 

 all but invisible among the shadows, and even through 

 the centre of the head we can see two spots of light be- 

 yond, — or no, it is the little subtle ring of white about 

 the eye! 



Two majestic Black-necked Swans ma}^ swim closely 

 along in full view near the opposite bank of a pond, and 

 yet be totally unrecognizable; showing to the e3^e as 

 bodiless necks or neckless bodies, according to the chang- 

 ing conditions of light and shade around them. 



We see a troop of ostriches rushing past. Surely 

 nothing could hide birds such as these! Again we see 

 one of these birds prone upon the ground, and a mighty 

 creature towering eight feet or more al)ove the earth, 

 becomes naught but a dark ant-hill, which the photo- 

 graph picks out clearly, but which in the desert, dotted 

 with ant-hills, would seldom be noticed even b}' the hungri- 

 est of lions. 



Of course, like most other theories, this of protective 

 coloration can easily be carried too far, but there are 

 hundreds of instances w^here it seems to answer every 

 requirement of the case. Few^ fields offer such opportuni- 

 ties for original work of the most delightful character. 

 As one example out of untold numbers, what explanation 

 can we give of the Blood-breasted Pigeon or Bleeding- 

 heart Pigeon, which, as its name denotes, has a splash 



