3 1 4 Poachers an d Poach ing. 



mage that naturalists almost despaired of ever 

 getting a characteristic description. Indeed, so 

 much a puzzle did these little strangers offer, 

 that for long they were described by the older 

 naturalists as three different birds. Of course, 

 we now know that the mountain, tawny, and snow 

 bunting are one ; and this because they have been 

 obtained in almost every possible stage of tran- 

 sition. They breed upon the summits of the 

 highest hills with the ptarmigan ; and like that bird 

 regulate their plumage according to the prevailing 

 aspect of their haunts. In this they succeed 

 admirably, and flourish accordingly. 



VI. 

 ADAPTATION TO HAUNT. 



The process of natural selection, tending to 

 the survival of the fittest, would almost invariably 

 seem to use colour as its main working factor. 

 The exemplification of this law is, perhaps, 

 nowhere better seen than in the colouring of 

 animals and birds. In the keen struggle for 

 existence, the creature which conforms most 

 nearly to its environment is the one most likely 

 to survive, and therefore perpetuate its character- 

 istics. For upon the fact that the peculiarities 

 of the parents are reproduced in their offspring 

 depends the whole theory of evolution. This 

 may at first suggest that the generality of animals 



