i8 WILD LIFE OF SCOTLAND 



birds. Free to move about, and elude observation, 

 he is safe to retain and even increase his ordinary 

 attractions. Were the sexes once alike, and are 

 we to assume that their respective shares in this 

 interesting duty made all the difference ? Many 

 fingers seem to point in this direction. 



In the case of ground birds that build on the 

 exposed heather, like the grouse, or in the open 

 field, like the partridge, or on the bushless moor, 

 like the lark, where all are exposed to the same 

 risk, the male is toned down to the harmonious 

 shades of the female. A friend informs me of a 

 case, which came under his own observation, where a 

 hen blackbird which had passed the age for sitting, 

 put on the inky hue of the cock. Probably, a little 

 closer attention would reveal this tendency in 

 other species. 



When the hen chaffinch leaves the nest, the wine- 

 coloured eggs are found to blend with the heavy 

 shades of the fir needles. White, or only slightly 

 spotted eggs are seldom exposed in an open nest 

 like this ; but are domed over as in the case of the 

 long-tailed tit, or hidden away in holes, like those 

 of the swift, and the sand-martin. 



The young birds, so long as they remain in the 

 nest, are still sober coloured ; and soon learn to 



