LEAF AND TENDRIL 



colors contrasted strongly with their surroundings. 

 The community spirit carried things with a high 

 hand. The same is in a measure true of the ibis, 

 the stork, the crane — all birds more or less gre- 

 garious, and all birds of more or less gay plumes. 

 But our solitary great blue heron, lone watcher in 

 marshes and by pond and river margins, is ob- 

 scurely colored, as is the equally solitary little green 

 heron. 



Our blue heron will stand for hours at a time on 

 the margin of some lake or pond, or on the top of 

 some forest tree near the water, and the eye might 

 easily mistake him for some inanimate object. He 

 has watched among roots and snags and dead tree- 

 tops so long that he has naturally come to look 

 like these things. What his enemies are, that he 

 should need to hide from them, other than the fool 

 with the gun, I do not know. 



Among gregarious mammals the same spirit 

 seems at work to check or modify the influence of 

 the environment. 



The common crow illustrates this spirit in a 

 wider field. The crow is a citizen of the world; he 

 is at home everywhere, but in the matter of color 

 he is at home nowhere. His jet black gives him 

 away at all times and in all places. His great cun- 

 ning and suspicion — whence do they come ? From 

 his experiences with man ? 



I do not know that there is very much in this 

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