104 NATURE-STXJDY 



ming. The wings are destitute of feathers and are covered 

 with scales Hke the feet. The wings seem to be the main 

 swimming organs, the feet being used more like rudders. 



Many birds add a touch of brightness to the generally 

 subdued or sombre colors of nature. Especially those of 

 the tropics are strikingly and beautifully colored with bright 

 hues. The oriole, robin, bluebird, bluejay, rose-breasted 

 grosbeak, goldfinch, tanager, indigo bird, woodpecker, red- 

 winged and yellow-headed blackbird, cardinal, sununer 

 yellowbird, redstart, meadow-lark, some of our wild ducks, 

 especially the teal and the wood-duck, are the most com- 

 mon of our birds which have conspicuously other colors than 

 black, white, brown, or gray. The colors of the great 

 majority of birds are subdued and inconspicuous. Probably 

 no other animals have such excellent protective colora- 

 tion. Most birds are colored so as to blend with the 

 background. Field and ground birds like the great sparrow 

 tribe, snipes and sandpipers, quail and grouse, are seen 

 with difficulty when standing or sitting motionless in the 

 grass, leaves, sand, or marsh. Hunters know that quail 

 cannot be seen though sitting within a yard's distance, and 

 that these birds rely so much on their mimicry of the ground 

 and leaves that they will not fly up until almost stepped on. 

 A ruffed grouse may be disturbed with her young, but at a 

 sudden warning from the mother the little birds scatter, and 

 in a trice are effectually concealed by crouching among the 

 dry leaves and sticks on the ground. Arboreal birds, such 

 as warblers, vireos, creepers, and thrushes generally, have 

 brown, gray, or olive colors, so that it takes a sharp eye to 

 see them among the leafy trees and shrubbery. The whip- 

 poor-will not only mimics the bark of the trees, but sits 



