PARENTAL COLOUR 95 



ing, neither do they ; they are almost always 

 protectively coloured. 



For instance, of the Falconidae, only the 

 small insectivorous species that are liable to 

 be attacked by the more powerful kinds show 

 conspicuous colouring. For similar reasons, 

 no night birds should present, nor do they, 

 conspicuous colouring. There are, however, 

 many birds which present conspicuous colour- 

 ing only in the male : with very few exceptions 

 these are found to make open nests, which 

 require the female to be protectively coloured ; 

 for this reason, only the male is conspicuously 

 coloured (when males incubate, females are 

 the more conspicuous). There still remain 

 many which are neither predatory nor night 

 birds, and which, nevertheless, are protectively 

 coloured in both sexes ; it is among these 

 birds that conspicuous displays are seen best, 

 and most marked. The position these birds 

 will take up, the motion they will make in an 

 endeavour thus to protect their young, are 

 remarkable the Meadow-pipit (Anthus pra- 

 tensis), the Reed-bunting (Emberiza schceni- 

 clus), and the Partridge (Perdix cinerea) are 

 well-known examples. Only by the collection 

 of a large number of facts such as these can 

 the theory become a law. As before mentioned, 



