74 HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 
dangers of city life; and are seldom caught napping by 
cat or boy. 
As the birds and their eggs are so preyed upon by 
such a multiplicity of enemies, perpetuation and self- 
defense become the main problem of their lives. We 
all know how the female bird, when flushed from the 
nest, will flutter away, hobbling as though disabled and 
an easy prey until the pursuer is at a reasonable distance 
from the nest, when she will suddenly take wing and fly 
away to a safe retreat. It is easy to see what valuable 
services both mimicry and ventriloquism might be to 
them in avoiding and misleading their enemies, and it 
is not unreasonable to believe that in the future ages 
these habits may become so general as to constitute a 
prominent feature in the bird’s method of protection. 
