CHIIvDHOOD 



young hare, on the other hand, although, in fact, 

 it lacks something of the precocity of the animal 

 described by the late Baron Munchausen, still 

 finds itself at once wide awake, protected from 

 the weather by a suitable garb of fur, and ready 

 at very brief notice to take a hand at the game 

 of life. 



We give these examples in order to make the 

 complicated matter of the childhood of animals 

 a little clearer. 



Arriving somewhat tardily at our own subject 

 we find that this rapid rise to maturity is seen in 

 certain birds. The majority are born callow 

 nestlings, and many days and even weeks must 

 elapse before they begin even to " take notice," 

 as the mothers say. But with a few species, of 

 which the waterhen is a type, the young, like 

 small aquatic Minervas, appear from the eggs 

 fully armed, and may even be seen swimming 

 with bits of shell still attached to their downy 

 coats. 



Birds of the Order Gallinse again, which includes 

 pheasants, partridges and grouse, are all active 

 and in full possession of their faculties directly 

 they are hatched; and it is noteworthy that in 

 such cases the nests are made on the ground, 

 although even to this rule certain exceptions exist. 

 Although the nestlings are able to run freely 

 at this earliest stage a considerable time passes 

 before they attain their flight feathers, and it is 

 clear that if they fir.st saw light from the summit 

 of a tree or from a lofty ledge in a cliff their dis- 

 position and ability to roam would be attended 

 by serious consequences. 



How far young birds and mammals depend 

 upon the teaching of their elders, or to what 

 extent the knowledge is inborn, are points upon 

 which it is by no means easy to discriminate. 



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