“PUTTING ON PAINT AND FRILLS.” 51 
feathers a long time before she arrived in baggy pan- 
taloons. 
This state is found in low birds, however, instead 
of high ones—an experiment tried and rejected before 
any great eesthetic progress was made by our feath- 
ered neighbors. 
It is much more frequent, however, that the mates 
of brilliant males are plain, or even somber in their 
dress. Color has progressed in one sex only. It is 
usually considered that females are kept back from 
brilliancy for the sake of safety while incubating, thus 
not being conspicuous; and a series of interesting 
considerations come in here concerning the relation 
between color of bird, style of nest, and markings of 
egos, which the limits of this little book prevents us 
from discussing. An instance showing plumage vari- 
ation in the sexes is given in the illustration of the 
bobolink. 3 
Many bright-hued and conspicuous males, how- 
ever, now assist their mates in sitting ; but this may be 
a recent habit, permitted by greater safety on account 
of the changed conditions, brought about by the dis- 
appearance of some former enemy, and induced by a 
tendency to progress in helping his mate. 
That in many cases where the two sexes differ in 
splendor it is the color of the female which is primi- 
tive is shown by the fact that the young male is apt 
to look like his mamma at first, hinting a time when 
the sexes were alike. In other cases, where there 
was no danger, the female has also become brilliant, 
perhaps because of change of nesting and other habits, 
