Page:Darwinism by Alfred Wallace 1889.djvu/302

 exposed to the attack of the whole colony; whereas a hawk or falcon could carry off a sitting-bird or the young at a swoop, and entirely avoid attack. Moreover, each kind of covered nest is doubtless directed against the attacks of the most dangerous enemies of the species, the purse-like nests, often a yard long, suspended from the extremity of thin twigs, being useful against the attacks of snakes, which, if they attempted to enter them, would be easily made to lose their hold and fall to the ground. Such birds as jays, crows, magpies, hawks, and other birds of prey, have also been urged as an exception; but these are all aggressive birds, able to protect themselves, and thus do not need any special protection for their females during nidification. Some birds which build in covered nests are comparatively dull coloured, like many of the weaver birds, but in others the colours are more showy, and in all the sexes are alike; so that none of these are in any way opposed to the rule. The golden orioles have, however, been adduced as a decided exception, since the females are showy and build in an open nest. But even here the females are less brilliant than the males, and are sometimes greenish or olivaceous on the upper surface; while they very carefully conceal their nests among dense foliage, and the male is sufficiently watchful and pugnacious to drive off most intruders.

On the other hand, how remarkable it is that the only small and brightly coloured birds of our own country in which the male and female are alike—the tits and starlings—either build in holes or construct covered nests; while the beautiful hangnests (Icteridae) of South America, which always build covered or purse-shaped nests, are equally showy in both sexes, in striking contrast with the chatterers and tanagers of the same country, whose females are invariably less conspicuous than the males. On a rough estimate, there are about 1200 species of birds in the class of showy males and females, with concealed nidification; while there are probably, from an equally rough estimate, about the same number in the contrasted class of showy males and dull females, with open nests. This will leave the great bulk of known birds in the classes of those which are more or less protectively coloured in both sexes; or which, from their organisation and habits, do