26 BOMBAY DUCKS 
that this is so. How ridiculous would a man of 6 feet 
5 inches appear who habitually gesticulated and flung 
himself about like a volatile Frenchman! Equally 
absurd would a goose be that flirted its tail and hopped 
about as a tailor-bird does. There are, of course, 
exceptions to this rule. 
Some little men and women are as stolid as buffaloes, 
and some small birds are as sedate as Mark Twain's 
frog was after the shot had been administered to it. 
But these are few and far between. They are merely 
the exceptions which prove the rule. 
I must now describe the tailor-bird, or, to give him 
his full name and title, Orthotomus sutorius. He is just 
a tiny greenish-brown wren-like bird; indeed, he is a 
relative of Mistress Jenny Wren, with whom we are so 
familiar in England. 
During the greater part of the year Mr. and Mrs. 
Durzie are alike in outward appearance. The upper 
plumage is greenish with a dash of gold or chestnut 
on the head. This last is set off by a neat black 
collar, visible only when the neck is stretched ; but as 
the bird cannot sing without stretching its neck, and 
as it sings, or rather makes a noise, all day long, the 
black collar is not difficult to distinguish. The lower 
parts of the bird are dull white, and are thus lighter 
in colour than the back and wings. This arrangement 
is very common in nature among many classes of 
animals. 
Of the birds clothed in sombre plumage, such as 
snipe, sandpipers, and babblers, fully ninety per cent 
are darker in colour above than below. Paradoxical 
