LEAF AND TENDRIL 



songsters to our ears are, as a rule, of the plainest 

 colors and free from extra plumes and ornaments. 

 I have yet to discover any evidence of pleasure on 

 the part of the female in the songs of her male 

 suitors. The male does hot even sing for his own 

 ear; if he did, when his vocal powers are defective, 

 as is sometimes the case, he would quit singing. 

 But such is not the case; he sings because he has 

 the impulse to sing, and that is reason enough. 



I know but one fact in the life of our birds that 

 suggests anything like taste. I refer to the nesting- 

 habits of the hummingbird, and of the little blue- 

 gray gnatcatcher and the wood pewee. The nests of 

 these birds are always neatly thatched with lichens, 

 thus perfectly realizing the dream of the true domes- 

 tic architect, of making the structure blend with its 

 surroundings. The nests of nearly all birds blend 

 well with their surroundings, because the material 

 at hand is itself of a dull, neutral character. But 

 the lichens which the hummer and the gnatcatcher 

 and our wood pewee use seem, at first sight, an 

 extra touch. Yet I cannot credit it to taste or to 

 the love of the beautiful, because it is beautiful only 

 to the cultivated, artistic taste of man. To a sav- 

 age, or even to those much higher in civilization, 

 it would not appear beautiful. A bertain degree of 

 culture has to be reached before we find beauty in 

 these quieter things. The reason why these birds 

 thatch the outside of their nests with lichens is 

 152 



