"I shouldn't like Nat to have nicer clothes than I wear." "But it is best for Bird People," replied the Doctor, "that the mother bird, who has to keep house and tend to the little ones, should not be too conspicuous.

She is best protected from enemies when her colors are plain, and especially when they match the foliage in which she sits on her nest.

If her mate has only himself to look out for, it does not so much matter how bright his plumage may be.

The colors of some birds are so exactly like their surroundings, that you might look long before you could find the sober, quiet female, whose mate is flashing his gay plumage and singing his finest song, perhaps for the very purpose of attracting your attention away from his home.

'Protective coloration,' is what the Wise Men call it." "What makes all the different colors of birds, Doctor ?" asked Rap.
"That is a hard question to answer.