BIRDS'-NESTS 



On the whole, there seems to be a system of 

 Women's Rights prevailing among the birds, which, 

 contemplated from the standpoint of the male, is 

 quite admirable. In almost all cases of joint inter- 

 est, the female bird is the most active. She deter- 

 mines the site of the nest, and is usually the most 

 absorbed in its construction. Generally, she is more 

 vigilant in caring for the young, and manifests the 

 most concern when danger threatens. Hour after 

 hour I have seen the mother of a brood of blue 

 grosbeaks pass from the nearest meadow to the tree 

 that held her nest, with a cricket or grasshopper in 

 her bill, while her better-dressed half was singing 

 serenely on a distant tree or pursuing his pleasure 

 amid the branches. 



Yet among the majority of our song-birds the 

 male is most conspicuous both by his color and 

 manners and by his song, and is to that extent a 

 shield to the female. It is thought that the female 

 is humbler clad for her better concealment during 

 incubation. But this is not satisfactory, as in some 

 cases she is relieved from time to time by the male. 

 In the case of the domestic dove, for instance, 

 promptly at midday the cock is found upon the 

 nest. I should say that the dull or neutral tints of 

 the female were a provision of nature for her greater 

 safety at all times, as her life is far more precious 

 to the species than that of the male. The indis- 

 pensable office of the male reduces itself to little 

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