68 ADVENTURES AMONG BIRDS 



had been In use for some hours or for a day, on being 

 Hberated he would gallop off in quest of the troop and 

 on catching sight of them neigh aloud to announce his 

 coming. Then his chum would neigh in response and 

 start off at a trot to meet him, and meeting him the 

 two would stand for a few moments touching noses, 

 which is the horse's way of kissing or expressing affec- 

 tion. They would then go quietly back together to the 

 others and begin grazing side by side. 



This book has birds for its subject, and we shall get 

 to something about them by-and-by; just now I want 

 to emphasize the fact of a feeling and union among 

 animals generally, which is in its nature identical with 

 what we call friendship in human beings. The fact is 

 more readily accepted when we treat of mammals, just 

 because they suckle their young and have hair instead 

 of feathers to clothe them. We, evolutionists think, 

 were hairy too in our far past, and some mammals, 

 like ourselves, have lost their hairy covering. That some 

 animals are capable of a strong affection for a human 

 being or master is a fact familiar to every one; we 

 think instantly of the dog in this connexion; the dog 

 is indeed commonly described as the "Friend of Man," 

 but if the description implies a superiority in this respect 

 it is certainly unjust to other species. 



An acquaintance of mine keeps a timber wolf as a 

 pet — the biggest, most powerful, probably the most fero- 

 cious of all the numerous varieties of that terrible beast. 

 Yet his owner assures me that his wolf is as much 

 attached to him as any dog could be to a man, that he 



