HOW BIRDS DRESS. 13 
their babyhood, and are they allowed by their parents 
to grow up idle and helpless? Will our wild birds 
grow tame and trustful if we love and pet them, and 
do they learn to prefer such food as we eat ourselves? 
In short, does it pay to cultivate the acquaintance of 
birds and to think of them as people? 
We will talk about these things in this lttle book, 
and when we are done, perhaps you will wonder that 
you did not get up earlier and know more about the 
beautiful little winged people in your yard. 
CHAPTER IV. 
HOW BIRDS DRESS. 
In temperate climates like this birds do not dress in 
such bright colors as they do in hot countries. ‘Their 
coats and gowns are plainer. There are few extremes 
in color here, as there are few extremes in heat or cold. 
We can tell almost any race or class of people by 
their style of dress or lack of dress. We can name the 
trees and shrubs and vines by their foliage, which is 
really their dress; so we know the different kinds of 
birds by their plumage or dress. 
Many birds resemble in color the haunts or places 
which they like the best. Desert birds are pale or 
gray, like the sand. Many of those in the tropics are 
dressed in gay colors, hke the bright blossoms about 
