will attract an observer's attention while the female 

 silently enters the nest. 



Thus we see that nature has bountifully supplied 

 her feathered creatures with instinct and intelli- 

 gence sufficient to baffle their enemies, including 

 man himself. Every variety of bird has some pe- 

 culiar way of defending itself and its nest. Those 

 that lay their eggs on bare, exposed situations use 

 distracting motions. Birds that nest in deep for- 

 ests or thickets are adepts at silence: this is their 

 protection; while predaceous birds employ warlike 

 methods, and birds of a general habitat resort to 

 mimicry, not a few of them having the additional 

 accomplishment of ventriloquy. Wherever these 

 marvellous little beings are found they exercise a 

 God-given craftiness in their own protection. They 

 are another thing for man to reflect on when he 

 grows arrogant in his own wisdom. 



