INTRODUCTION. 9 



shining sparkle from the humming-bird's throat, the plain 

 but exquisite shadings and markings of the one forming a 

 wide contrast with the gaudy and glittering hues of the other. 

 The male bird is usually .clothed in more brilliant plumage 

 than the female, and the young of both sexes generally assume 

 the garb of the female until the f ollowing spring. Color thus 

 not only serves the purpose of beauty, but also of protection, for 

 while the gay dress of the male attracts attention, making 

 him a more prominent mark for the sportsman, the plain dress 

 of the female, who has the care of the young, secures her from 

 danger. The partridge and woodcock, in their gray plumage, 

 which resembles the ground, are secreted from the search- 

 ing eye of the hawk and kite ; the whip-poor-will wears a 

 tawny dress, difficult to distinguish from the log upon which 

 it crouches ; the owl is clothed in gray and brown, closely 

 resembling the colors of the hollow tree in which it makes its 

 home ; the ptarmigan, living in cold northern climates, in sum- 

 mer has its plumage marked with stripes of black or brown, 

 closely resembling the rocks and barren heaths upon which it 

 lives. Should these dark hues remain during the winter, it 

 would fall a prey to the snowy owl or the gyrfalcon, but its 

 plumage then turns nearly white. The snow-bunting, and 

 some of the great owls of the North, have a plumage almost 

 as white as the snow, so that it is difficult to distinguish them 

 from the mass of surrounding white. The tropical birds which 

 come to this country, especially from the forests of South 

 America, are dressed in the brightest plumage, resembling the 

 t right flowers and intense green leaves by which they are sur- 

 zounded. The crane, heron, and other water birds, which 

 d3pend upon their dexterity as fishers for their supply of food, 

 are clothed with feathers of a white and bluish slate color, so 

 that the fish, as they glide beneath the water, recognize but 

 little difference between the plumage of their foe and the blue 

 heaven above them, studded with clouds. Thus they fall an 

 easy prey to the birds, which, if robed in darker feathers, 

 would cause alarm, and send the fish into the depths below. 



