Page:Territory in Bird Life by Henry Eliot Howard (London, John Murray edition).djvu/239

Rh is no imaginary one. Examine a young bird that has recently left the egg; observe its nakedness; and consider what it has to withstand—a temperature that may rise to 70°F. or may fall to 40°F., the tropical rain of a thunderstorm or the persistent drizzle of many hours' duration, the scorching effect of a summer sun or the chilling effect of a cold north-easterly wind, and, constantly, the sudden change of temperature each time that the parent leaves the nest. One marvels that it ever does survive; one marvels at the evolution of a constitution sufficiently elastic to withstand such changes. But, however much the constitution may give us cause to wonder, it is clear that much depends upon the parents. A slight inefficiency of the instinctive response which the presence of the young evokes, a little slowness in searching for food or sluggishness in returning to the nest, might lead to exposure and prove fatal. And, however much is demanded of the parents, it is clear that much also depends upon the relationships in the external environment; for no matter how sensitive or how well attuned the instinctive response of the parent may be, it will avail but little in the presence of unfavourable conditions in the environment.

Everything turns upon the question of the effect of exposure. And in order to ascertain how far extremes of temperature are injurious. I removed the nests of various species containing newly hatched young, and, placing them