THE DOMINANT SENSES 



Not all field naturalists are biologists and, it must be 

 admitted, by no means all biologists are field naturalists — 

 more's the pity ! Every field worker would be better for some 

 knowledge of biology, including as it does, both morphology 

 and physiology; while the biologist, whether student or 

 teacher, would be more fully equipped if he included a 

 regular amount of field natural history in his working 

 routine. 



High on the list of subjects which those who prefer to 

 indulge in observations out of doors should embrace, is the 

 fascinating and essential one of the senses of animals. Not 

 only is this aspect of the behaviour of living creatures well 

 worth while in itself, it is necessary because without some 

 knowledge of the senses which govern, to a greater or lesser 

 extent, the lives and habits of animals, true field work 

 becomes impossible. 



Unless a student has at least some general idea as to which 

 senses play the most important part in the activities of the 

 animals to be studied, it will mean that observation of many 

 kinds of creatures will be either abortive or incomplete. If, 

 for instance, one is set upon finding out more about the 

 behaviour of badgers, there will be little or no success if that 

 attractive mammal's sensory equipment is not understood. 



Now all groups of animals have some sense or senses which 

 are more highly developed than others, and these are 

 generally referred to as dominant senses. In the case of certain 

 groups it may be that one sense is far more highly evolved 

 than all the others; but there are instances where it is 

 difficult to be precise about this because some other sense 

 may also be of a marked degree of acuteness ; and our know- 

 ledge may not yet be advanced enough for us to be able to 

 say with certainty that such-and-such an animal depends 



