TRADITIONS OF WATERFOWL 



young or the inexperienced. Yet the directness of experienced behavior is 

 the medium by which one bird learns a custom or a region that another bird 

 has used, and by this unconscious delivery, the cultures and traditions, 

 new and old, are handed down through the ages. 



As we examine the traditions of food and place, we are aware of cer- 

 tain characteristics that distinguish this inheritance from the innate. Firstly, 

 a tradition may have spontaneous beginning at any time in the life of any 

 individual, as genetic mutations cannot. Secondly, as Mayr (1942) points 

 out, traditions may be "lost as quickly as acquired." A tradition may have 

 its beginning today and its ending next year, after delivery to but one gen- 

 eration ; or a habit acquired this afternoon by an individual or a group may 

 live for many years, perhaps for centuries. Traditions that have lived for 

 unknown generations beyond the beginning of history may die forever 

 overnight. Errington (1941:99) postulated for the Bob-white that "tradi- 

 tions die along with populations during periods of great mortality." The link 

 is always in the actions of experienced individuals. When these are lost or 

 killed or no longer active, the tradition is ended. It is this nonheritable spon- 

 taneity of tradition that permits the establishment of a breeding colony 

 of Canada Geese almost anywhere a man may choose for the starting of 

 young birds. 



We observe that there are two ways of delivering avian traditions. There 

 is, first, the direct tie between parent and offspring. In numerous species, like 

 the ducks, the parent-child relationship is short and family traditions are 

 thus weak. In others, such as the geese and cranes, where the family holds 

 together for a long time, family traditions are strong. Second, there is the 

 companion bond whereby group or community traditions are delivered 

 from one experienced bird to another, although there may be no blood 

 relationships. The use of a sanctuary and the feeding travel to grain fields 

 are examples of such social inheritance. We of course are aware of these pat- 

 terns of inheritance in our own human lives, how each family has its indi- 

 vidual codes of behavior passed on from father to son, while every com- 

 munity maintains traditions of action that concern all its families. So it is 

 that in man and in many of the lower animals, certain cultures, habits and 

 actions are delivered nongenetically from one generation to the next and, 

 as Cushing and others have suggested, we may properly refer to such non- 

 heritable actions as traditions. 



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