Chap. XIV. MENTAL QUALITIES. 109 



recognised tlieir former masters after an interval of 

 some months. Pigeons liave such excellent local me- 

 mories that tliey have been known to return to their 

 former homes after an interval of nine montlis, yet, as 

 I hear from Mr. Harrison Weir, if a pair which would 

 naturally remain mated for life be separated for a few 

 weeks during the winter and matched with other birds, 

 the two, when brought together again, rarely, if ever, 

 recognise each other. 



Birds sometimes exhibit benevolent feelings; they 

 will feed the deserted young even of distinct species, 

 but this perhaps ought to be considered as a mistaken 

 instinct. They will also feed, as shewn in an earlier 

 part of this work, adult birds of their own species 

 which have become blind. Mr. Buxton ogives a curious 

 account of a parrot which took care of a frost-bitten and 

 crippled bird of a distinct species, cleansed her feathers 

 and defended her from the attacks of the other parrots 

 which roamed freely about his garden. It is a still 

 more curious fact that these birds apparently evince 

 some sympathy for the pleasures of their fellows. When 

 a pair of cockatoos made a nest in an acacia tree, " it 

 " was ridiculous to see the extrava2:ant interest taken 

 " in the matter by the others of the same species." 

 These parrots, also, evinced unbounded curiosity, and 

 clearly had "the idea of property and possession." -^^ 



Birds possess acute powers of observation. Every 

 mated bird, of course, recognises its fellow. Audubon 

 states that with the mockinor-thrushes of the United 

 States {Mimus jpolyglottus) a certain number remain all 

 the year round in Louisiana, whilst the others migrate 

 to the Eastern States ; these latter, on their return, 



" Acclimatization of Parrots,' by 0, Buxton, M.P. 'Annals and 

 Mag. of Nat. Hist.' Nov. 18U8, p. SSi. 



