74 HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 



dangers of city life, and are seldom caught napping by 

 cat or boy. 



As the birds and their eggs are so preyed upon by 

 such a multiplicity of enemies, perpetuation and self- 

 defense become the main problem of their lives. We 

 all kno^v how the female bird, when flushed from the 

 nest, will flutter away, hobbling as though disabled and 

 an easy prey until the pursuer is at a reasonable distance 

 from the nest, when she ^yi\l suddenly take wing and fly 

 away to a safe retreat. It is easy to see what valuable 

 services both mimicry and ventriloquism might be to 

 them in avoiding and misleading their enemies, and it 

 is not unreasonable to believe that in the future ages 

 these habits may become so general as to constitute a 

 prominent feature in the bird's method of protection. 



