BIRDS AND MAN 47 



while the others all kept their places. Their quietude 

 in the midst of that whirlwind of battle was wonder- 

 ful to see. Their only movement was when one of 

 the birds was in a direct line with a flying rabbit, 

 when, if it stayed still, in another moment it would 

 be struck and perhaps killed by the shock ; then 

 it would leap a few inches aside and immediately 

 settle down again. In this way every one of the 

 birds had been forced to move several times before 

 the battle passed on towards the opposite side of 

 the field and left the covey in peace. 



Social animals, Herbert Spencer truly says, " take 

 pleasure in the consciousness of one another's com- 

 pany ; " but he appears to limit the feeling to those 

 of the same herd, or flock, or species. Speaking of 

 the mental processes of the cow, he tells us just 

 how that large mammal is impressed by the sight of 

 birds that come near it and pass across its field of 

 vision ; they are regarded in a vague way as mere 

 shadows, or shadowy objects, flitting or blown about 

 hither and thither over the grass or through the air. 

 He didn't know a cow's mind. My conviction is 

 that all animals distinctly see in those of other species, 

 living, sentient, intelligent beings like themselves ; 

 and that, when birds and mammals meet together, 

 they take pleasure in the consciousness of one 



