of the egg is that of the earth, and the mark- 

 ings correspond marvelously to the size, shade, 

 and distribution of the bits of wood beneath 

 them in the nest. I know of no other instance 

 of protective coloring among the birds so 

 nearly perfect, unless it be the killdeer herself 

 when playing her favorite trick of "invisible." 



She had seen me before I entered the reeds 

 of the marsh-wrens. Squatting close over her 

 eggs, she watched me silently, and seeing that I 

 was approaching her nest on my way up the 

 hill, she glided off and suddenly appeared at 

 my feet. Where she came from I did not 

 know. It was as if the earth had opened and 

 let her out. I stopped. That was what she 

 wanted. "You numskull, look at me and make 

 a fool of yourself," she said by the light in her 

 eye. I did exactly so. 



"With her head outstretched and body close 

 to the ground, she slid like a ghost before me as 

 I followed. Now she took form like a stone, 

 now seemed to sink out of sight into the earth, 

 reappearing only to vanish again into thin air. 

 Thus she led me on, contriving to keep from 

 beneath my feet, and always just out of reach, 

 [204] 



