GAY PLUMES AND DULL 



color, which is not commonly the case. Thus among 

 the birds, the waders all have long legs and long 

 necks, but they are not all of the same color. The 

 divers all have short legs placed in the rear, but 

 they vary greatly in color-markings. How greatly 

 the ducks differ in coloration, though essentially 

 the same in structure! Our tree warblers are of all 

 hues and combinations of hues, though so alike in 

 habit and form. The painted bunting in the South- 

 west is gaudily colored, while its congeners are all 

 more plainly dressed. 



In England the thrush that answers to our robin, 

 being almost identical in form, manner, and habit, 

 is black as a coal. The crow tribe are all built upon 

 the same plan, and yet they show a very great di- 

 versity of colors. Why is our jay so showily colored, 

 and the Canada jay so subdued in tint ? 



The hummingbirds do not differ much in their 

 anatomy, but their tints differ as much as do those 

 of precious stones. The woodpeckers show a variety 

 of markings that cannot be accounted for upon any 

 principle of utility or of natural selection. Indeed, 

 it would seem as if in the colors of birds and mam- 

 mals Nature gave herself a comparatively free hand, 

 not being bound by the same rigid necessity as in 

 their structures. Within certain limits, something 

 like caprice or accident seems to prevail. The great 

 law of assimilation, or harmonious blending, of 

 which I shall presently have more to say, goes on, 

 55 



