BIRDS'-NESTS. 137 



birds, which, contemplated from the stand- 

 point of the male, is quite admirable. In 

 almost all cases of joint interest, the female 

 bird is the most active. She determines the 

 site of the nest, and is usually the most ab- 

 sorbed in its construction. Generally, she is 

 more vigilant in caring for the young, and 

 manifests the most concern when danger 

 threatens. Hour after hour I have seen the 

 mother of a brood of blue grossbeaks pass 

 from the nearest meadow to the tree that 

 held her nest, with a cricket or grasshopper 

 in her bill, while her better-dressed half was 

 singing serenely on a distant tree or pursuing 

 his pleasure amid the branches. 



Yet among the majority of our song birds, 

 the male is most conspicuous both by his 

 color and manners and by his song, and is to 

 that extent a shield to the female. It is 

 thought that the female is humbler clad for 

 her better concealment during incubation. 

 But this is not satisfactory, as in some cases 

 she is relieved from time to time by the male. 

 In the case of the domestic dove, for instance, 

 promptly at midday the cock is found upon 

 the nest. I should say that the dull or neu- 

 tral tints of the female were a provision of 

 nature for her greater safety at all times, as 



