PROTECTIVE COLORATION. 43 



darkened, tlie result being a nniform color, with an ap- 

 parent absence of shadow, tending to render the object 

 invisible. 



Mr. Thayer clearly demonstrates his discovery by 

 using several decoys about the size and shape of a Wood- 

 cock's body. These he places about six inches above the 

 ground on wire uprights, or in a row on a horizontal rod. 

 One of these decoys he colors uniformly, above and be- 

 low, to resemble the earth about it, or he may even give 

 it a fine coating of the earth itself. The upper half of 

 the other decoys is treated in exactly the same manner, 

 but their lower half is graded to a pure white on the me- 

 dian line below. At a distance of forty or fifty yards 

 the uniformly colored decoy can be plainly seen, but 

 those which are white below are entirely invisible until 

 one is within twenty or thirty feet of them. 



After definitely locating these graded decoys the ex- 

 periment may be repeated ; but the result will always be 

 the same. As one slowly retreats from them they will, as 

 by magic, seem to pass out of existence, while the one which 

 is colored alike both above and below can be seen distinctly. 



One of the best arguments for the value of a protect- 

 ive coloration is the fact that the birds themselves are 

 such thorough believers in it. Here we have the reason 

 why — in sportsman's parlance — game birds "lie to a dog." 

 When there is sufficient cover, they trust to their protect- 

 ive coloring to escape detection, and take wing only as 

 a last resort ; but when cover is scanty, they generally 

 rise far out of gunshot. Some Snipe and Sparrows, 

 however, attempt to conceal themselves even on bare 

 sand or worn grass by squatting close to the earth, with 

 which their plumage harmonizes in color. 



A sitting Woodcock had such confidence in its own 

 invisibility that it permitted itself to be stroked without 

 leaving the nest ; but when a light snow fell, and the 



