306 The Bird 



Let us glance at one more bird upon her nest, a Laugh- 

 ing Gull. At a distance we see a shapeless blotch of white 

 sand among the reeds, that is all. We walk over a hundred 

 other similar patches; but when near enough, we at 

 last are able to distinguish the dark head and wing-tips, 

 all but invisible among the shadows, and even through 

 the centre of the head we can see two spots of light be- 

 yond, or no, it is the little subtle ring of white about 

 the eye! 



Two majestic Black-necked Swans may swim closely 

 along in full view near the opposite bank of a pond, and 

 yet be totally unrecognizable; showing to the eye as 

 bodiless necks or neckless bodies, according to the chang- 

 ing conditions of light and shade around them. 



We see a troop of ostriches rushing past. Surely 

 nothing could hide birds such as these! Again we see 

 one of these birds prone upon the ground, and a mighty 

 creature towering eight feet or more above the earth, 

 becomes naught but a dark ant-hill, which the photo- 

 graph picks out clearly, but which in the desert, dotted 

 with ant-hills, would seldom be noticed even by the hungri- 

 est of lions. 



Of course, like most other theories, this of protective 

 coloration can easily be carried too far, but there are 

 hundreds of instances where it seems to answer every 

 requirement of the case. Few fields offer such opportuni- 

 ties for original work of the most delightful character. 

 As one example out of untold numbers, what explanation 

 can we give of the Blood-breasted Pigeon or Bleeding- 

 heart Pigeon, which, as its name denotes, has a splash 



