PROTECTIVE COLORATION, 438 
darkened, the result being a uniform color, with an ap- 
parent absence of shadow, tending to render the object 
invisible. 
Mr. Thayer clearly demonstrates his discovery by 
using several decoys about the size and shape of a Wood- 
eock’s body. These he places about six inches above the 
ground on wire uprights, or in a row on a horizontal rod. 
One of these decoys he colors uniformly, above and be- 
low, to resemble the earth about it, or he may even give 
it a fine coating of the earth itself. The upper half of 
the other decoys is treated in exactly the same manner, 
but their lower half is graded to a pure white on the me- 
dian line below. At a distance of forty or fifty yards 
the uniformly colored decoy can be plainly seen, but 
those which are white below are entirely invisible until 
one is within twenty or thirty feet of them. 
After definitely locating these graded decoys the ex- 
periment may be repeated ; but the result will always be 
the same. As one slowly retreats from them they will, as 
by magic, seem to pass out of existence, while the one which 
is colored alike both above and below can be seen distinctly. 
One of the best arguments for the value of a protect- 
ive coloration is the fact that the birds themselves are 
such thorough believers in it. Here we have the reason 
why—in sportsman’s parlance—game birds “lie to a dog.” 
When there is sufficient cover, they trust to their protect- 
ive coloring to’ escape detection, and take wing only as 
a last resort; but when cover is scanty, they generally 
rise far out of gunshot. Some Snipe and Sparrows, 
however, attempt to conceal themselves even on bare 
sand or worn grass by squatting close to the earth, with 
which their plumage harmonizes in color. 
A sitting Woodcock had such confidence in its own 
invisibility that it permitted itself to‘be stroked without 
leaving the nest; but when a light snow fell, and the 
