Mahch 2, 1896.1 



KNOWLEDGE 



67 



spends the day concealed in woods and copses, often under 

 some thick shrub and always on the ground ; and the 

 mottled browns and reds of its plumage so nearly resemble 

 the leaves with which the ground in a wood is always covered, 



Xest of Little Grebe as left bv bird 



that it is almost impossible to discover the bird even when 

 one is searching for it. Indeed, were it not for its round 

 and lustrous black eye the " cock " would seldom be seen 

 on the ground. In the nesting season its protective colour- 

 ing is again of the greatest service. The nest is a slight 

 hollow amongst the fallen leaves, often in a sheltered 

 position, as in oiu- illustration, where the bird has ensconsed 

 itself beneath a fallen bough ; and here it sits on eggs or 

 young in conscious security, allowing itself to be almost 

 trodden upon before it moves. Few birds are so well 

 protected by their colour as the woodcock, and it is difficult 

 to say why this bird should be so sin- 

 gularly well provided for in this respect ; 

 but it may be taken as a general rule 

 that birds (especially the females) which 

 rest or make their nests on the ground 

 are more or less protectively coloured. A 

 striking case of protective resemblance is 

 afforded by the males of many sorts of 

 ducks and geese at certain periods of the 

 year. These birds, as everyone knows, 

 are very gaily attired in comparison to the 

 females, but, strange to say, for several 

 weeks in the summer they lose their 

 brilliantly-coloured plumage and assume 

 the duller garb of the female. On en- 

 quiring into the cause of this curious 

 change we find that, contrary to the usual 

 rule, ducks and geese moult all their 

 flight feathers at the same time, and are 

 therefore incapable of flight for a con- 

 siderable time. When in this helpless 

 state they generally resort to reed beds and 

 such places, and it will be easily seen what 

 an immense advantage the dull and pro- 

 tective plumage is to them at this period. 



There are not so many examples of protective resem- 

 blance which are easily recognized in birds as in other 

 classes of animal life. The habits of the bird must gene- 

 rally be closely studied in connection with its colouring 

 before it can be ascertained if this colouring is a special 



protection, and these cases are always of greater interest 

 than those which are more apparent. 



Turning from the bird to its nest or eggs, we have 



abundant examples — especially in those species which 



build their nests or lay their eggs in 



\ ▼■ positions exposed and easy of access. 



^J\^-M What ornithologist has not hunted for 



y y T hours, and often in vain, for the eggs of 



n ji J some bird such as the ringed plover or 



tern, which lays its eggs without a nest 



of any sort amongst the shingle ? In fact, 



the only satisfactory way of finding these 



eggs is to watch the bird from a distance 



until it settles on them, and then to walk 



straight up to the spot. Even then, if 



r "./ ' '^^ ^y^ ^^ ^o' ^^P* steadily on the mark, 



* if.. one may often walk past or even over 



j-jt the eggs without seeing them, so closely do 



'■^^ they resemble the stones amongst which 



they are laid. 



Again, take the familiar examples of 

 the peewit, the goatsucker, and skylark — 

 every countryman must have experienced 

 the diiBculty of finding the eggs of these 

 birds. Many birds, too, such as the 

 chaffinch, the long-tailed tit, the wren, 

 and a host of others, make their nests of 

 materials so much akin to those with 

 which they are surrounded that a passing glance would 

 not detect the nest. One is often only conscious of a slight 

 thickening in a bough or of some irregularity of form, until 

 a more careful scrutiny reveals a nest. 



Turning now to the two illustrations of the nest of a 

 little grebe or dabchick (also from photographs by Mr. G. 

 Burn JEurdoch), we have a curious instance of protective 

 resemblance coupled with a mild deception practised by 

 the owner of the nest. The dabchick lays its eggs on 

 some mass of green floating weed which is so common on 

 streams and ponds. This nest, if we may so call it, is 



Same nest as above, with covering over eggs reniovcd. 



like any other mass of weeds, except, perhaps, that it is a 

 little higher and more compact, but not sufficiently so to 

 enable one to distinguish it. So fur, then, the nest is 

 perfectly safe ; but when the bird has laid its chalky white 

 eggs it would be instantly detected had not its owner the 



