328 On Animal Instinct : in its Relation to the Mind of Man. 



the structure of its wing. Its terror arose on seeing the proper objects 

 of fear, although they had never been seen before, and no experience 

 of injury had arisen. This terror prompted it to the proper methods 

 of escape, and the knowledge how to use its faculties for this object 

 was as intuitive as the apparatus for effecting it was hereditary. In 

 this sense the Dipper was a living, breathing, seeing, fearing, and 

 diving machine — ready made for all these purposes from the nest — as 

 some other birds are even from their first exclusion from the Q^^. 



The case of the young Merganser is still more curious and instructive 

 with reference to the same questions. The young of all the Anatidce 

 are born, like the gallinaceous birds, not naked or blind as most others 

 are, but completely equipped with a feathery down, and able to swim 

 or dive as soon as they see the light. Moreover the young of the 

 Mergauser have the benefit of seeing from the first the parent bird 

 performing these operations, so that imitation may have some part in 

 developing the perfection with which they are executed by the young. 

 But the particular manoeuvre resorted to by the young bird which 

 baffled our pursuit, was a manoeuvre in which it could have had no 

 instruction from example — the manoeuvre, namely, which consists in 

 hiding not under any cover but by remaining perfectly motionless on the 

 ground. This is a method of escape which cannot be resorted to 

 successfully except by birds whose coloring is adapted to the purpose 

 by a close assimilation with the coloring of surrounding objects. The 

 old bird would not have been concealed on the same ground, and 

 would never itself resort to the same method of escape. The young, 

 therefore, cannot have been instructed in it by the method of example. 

 But the small size of the chick, together with its obscure and curiously 

 mottled coloring, are specially adapted to this mode of concealraent. 

 The young of all birds which breed upon the ground are provided with 

 a garment in such perfect harmony with surrounding effects of light as 

 to render this manoeuvre easy. It depends, however, wholly for its 

 success upon absolute stillness. The slightest motion at once attracts 

 the eye of any enemy which is searching for the young. And this 

 absolute stillness must be preserved amidst all the emotions of fear and 

 terror which the close approach of the object of alarm must, and 

 obviously does, inspire. Whence comes this splendid, even if it be 

 unconscious faith, in the sufficiency of a defense which it must lequire 

 such nerve and strength of will to practice? No movement, not even 

 the slightest, though the enemy should seem about to trample on it : 

 such is the terrible requirement of Nature — and by the child of Nature 

 implicitly obeyed ! Here again, beyond all question, we have an 

 instinct as much born with the creature as the harmonious tinting of 



