CONTENTS 
viii 
of Protective Colouring — Objection that Colour, as being dangerous, 
should not exist in Nature — Mimicry — Mimicry among Lepidoptera 
— Lepidoptera mimicking other Insects— Mimicry among Beetles — 
Beetles mimicking other Insects — Insects mimicking Species of other 
Orders — Cases of Mimicry among the Yertebrata — Mimicry among 
Snakes — Mimicry among Birds — Mimicry among Mammals — Objec-, 
tions to Mr. Bates’s Theory of Mimicry — Mimicry by Female Insects 
only — Cause of the dull Colours of Female Birds — Use of the gaudy 
Colours of many Caterpillars — Summary — General deductions as to 
Colour in Nature — Conclusion .... Pages 34-90 
IY. On Instinct in Man and Animals 
How Instinct may be best Studied — Definition of Instinct — Does Man 
possess Instincts 1 — How Indians travel through unknown and track- 
less Forests ...... 91-97 
Y. The Philosophy of Birds’ Nests 
Instinct or Reason in the Construction of Birds’ Nests — Do Men build by 
Reason or by Imitation ? — "Why does each Bird build a peculiar kind 
of Nest ? — How do young Birds learn to build their first Nest ? 
Do Birds sing by Instinct or by Imitation ? — How young Birds may 
learn to build Nests — The Skill exhibited in Nest-building Ex- 
aggerated — Man’s Works mainly Imitative — Birds do Alter and 
Improve their Nests when altered Conditions require it — Conclusion 
98-117 
YI. A Theory of Birds’ Nests 
Changed Conditions and persistent Habits as influencing Nidification— 
Classification of Nests — Sexual differences of Colour in Birds — The 
Law which connects the Colours of Female Birds ■with the mode of 
Nidification— What the Facts Teach us— Colour more variable than 
Structure or Habits, and therefore the Character which has generally 
been Modified — Exceptional cases confirmatory of the above Explana- 
tion-Real or apparent exceptions to the Law stated at page 124— 
Various modes of Protection of Animals — Females of some groups 
require and obtain more Protection than the Males — Conclusion 
118-140 
YII. Creation by Law 
Laws from which the Origin of Species may be deduced — Mr. Darwin’s 
Metaphors liable to Misconception— A case of Orchid-structure ex- 
