How to Attract the Birds 



many trees, shrubs, and plants, with ends of their 

 own to be gained, take great pains to attract it. 

 Some insects mimic with their coloring that of 



their surround- 

 ings : one must 

 look sharp be- 

 fore discovering 

 the glaucous 

 green worm on 

 the glaucous 

 green nastur- 

 tium leaf. Some, 

 like the milk- 

 weed butterfly, 

 secrete disagree- 

 able juices to re- 

 pel the birds, 

 and other but- 

 terflies, which 

 secrete none, 

 fool their foes by 

 bearing a super- 

 ficial resem- 

 blance to it. 

 Others, like the 

 walking - stick, assume a form that can scarcely 

 be distinguished from the objects it frequents. 

 With what pains does the caterpillar draw together 

 the edges of a leaf and hide within it, sleeping until 

 ready to emerge into its winged stage, if by chance 

 a pair of sharp eyes does not discover it at the 

 beginning of its nap, and a sharper beak tear 

 it ruthlessly from the snug cradle ! Children who 



192 



A slim enough dinner for any bird that 

 discovers it. The walking stick 



