58 
PROOFS OF EVOLUTION. 
XIII. 
PROOFS FROM MIMICRY. 
<3 
Mimicry, or the imitative faculty of some 
plants and animals, gives us most interesting 
testimony for Evolution. Some insects and birds, 
through the law of Natural Selection, in config¬ 
uration and color are like the natural objects over 
which they roam, thus securing a degree of pro¬ 
tection from their natural enemies. The brooding 
bobolink harmonizes with its nest, while its un¬ 
fettered mate in gay attire soars happily around. 
But the valiant crow needs no protection, and so 
is “ black as crows can be.” Those female birds 
and insects which serve as prey for their enemies 
are inconspicuous in color, while their mates are 
dressed in fine raiment. That curious little insect, 
the walking-stick, looks precisely like a brown 
twig broken from a tree; others resemble the 
leaves of plants which grow in their neighborhood. 
Some animals feign or mimic death to escape such 
foes as devour only what they kill. Others, again. 
