BIRDS’ —NESTS 108 
shield to the female. It is thought that the female 
is humbler clad for her better concealment during 
incubation. But this is not satisfactory, as in some 
cases she is relieved from time to time by the male. 
In the case of the domestic dove, for instance, 
promptly at midday the cock is found upon the 
nest. Ishould say that the dull or neutral tints of 
the female were a provision of nature for her greater 
safety at all times, as her life is far more precious 
to the species than that of the male. The indis- 
pensable office of the male reduces itself to little 
more than a moment of time, while that of his mate 
extends over days and weeks, if not months.? 
In migrating northward, the males precede the 
females by eight or ten days; returning in the fall, 
the females and young precede the males by about 
the same time. 
After the woodpeckers have’ abandoned their 
nests, or rather chambers, which they do after the 
first season, their cousins, the nuthatches, chicka- 
dees, and brown creepers, fall heir to them. These 
1 A recent English writer upon this subject presents an array 
of facts and considerations that do not support this view He 
says that, with very few exceptions, it is the rule that, when both 
sexes are of strikingly gay and conspicuous colors, the nest is 
such as to conceal the sitting bird; while, whenever there is a 
striking contrast of colors, the male being gay and conspicuous, 
the female dull and obscure, the nest is open and the sitting bird 
exposed to view. The exceptions to this rule among European 
birds appear to be very few. Among our own birds, the cuckoos 
and blue jays build open nests, without presenting any notice- 
able difference in the coloring of the two sexes. The same is true 
of the pewees, the kingbird and the sparrows, while the common 
bluebird, the oriole, and orchard starling afford examples the 
other way. 
