WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



winged blackbirds, however, the female does not 

 wear the jetty, iridescent coat which adorns the 

 head of the family, and reflects the sunlight in 

 a thousand prismatic tints, but hides herself and 

 the home she cares for by affecting a dull, brown- 

 black, streaked suit, assimilating her closely with 

 the surrounding objects. This protective colora- 

 tion of plumage is possessed by the females of 

 many species of birds, which would be very con- 

 spicuous, and consequently greatly liable to danger 

 while incubating their eggs, if they wore the bright 

 tints of the males. The tanager and indigo-bird 

 afford prominent examples. Sometimes the crow- 

 blackbirds make their homes at a distance from 

 the water, and occasionally they choose odd places, 

 such as the tops of tall pine-trees, the spires of 

 churches, martin-boxes in gardens, and holes in 

 trees. 



Crow -blackbirds' eggs are among the first on 

 every boy's string, and until he gains experience 

 the young collector supposes he has almost as 

 many different species represented as he has speci- 

 mens, so much do they differ, even in the same 

 nestful, in respect to color, shape, and size. Their 

 length averages about 1.25 by .90 of an inch, but 

 some are long, slender, and pointed, while others 



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