26 BOMBAY DUCKS 



that this is so. How ridiculous would a man of 6 feet 

 5 inches appear who habitually gesticulated and flung 

 himself about like a volatile Frenchman ! Equally 

 absurd would a goose be that flirted its tail and hopped 

 about as a tailor-bird does. There are, of course, 

 exceptions to this rule. 



Some little men and women are as stolid as buffaloes, 

 and some small birds are as sedate as Mark Twain's 

 frog was after the shot had been administered to it. 

 But these are few and far between. They are merely 

 the exceptions which prove the rule. 



I must now describe the tailor-bird, or, to give him 

 his full name and title, Orthotomus sutorius. He is just 

 a tiny greenish-brown wren-like bird ; indeed, he is a 

 relative of Mistress Jenny Wren, with whom we are so 

 familiar in England. 



During the greater part of the year Mr. and Mrs. 

 Durzie are alike in outward appearance. The upper 

 plumage is greenish with a dash of gold or chestnut 

 on the head. This last is set off by a neat black 

 collar, visible only when the neck is stretched ; but as 

 the bird cannot sing without stretching its neck, and 

 as it sings, or rather makes a noise, all day long, the 

 black collar is not difficult to distinguish. The lower 

 parts of the bird are dull white, and are thus lighter 

 in colour than the back and wings. This arrangement 

 is very common in nature among many classes of 

 animals. 



Of the birds clothed in sombre plumage, such as 

 snipe, sandpipers, and babblers, fully ninety per cent 

 are darker in colour above than below. Paradoxical 



