MUTUAL AID AMONGST ANIMALS. 9 



philosopher who said: "As I was spealiing, I saw a sparrow 

 discover that there is some com which has been spilt near the 

 barn, and he came to tell it to his friends." But the sparrows 

 not only tell each other where there is food to be found, but quite 

 lately there was in 'x^aturc' a complaint of what these "impudent" 

 birds are doing in Australia. When they see a bird of prey they 

 come in great numbers and chase it, and they have been seen 

 to keep a bird of prey, which had sought refuge from them 

 in a bush, confined there for a whole day, by the vast numbers 

 with which they surrounded him. 



Those who wish to get an insight into the real life of the birds 

 should go and see one of the lakes of Asia, or of South Russia, 

 or of the far west of America — one of those lakes where myriads 

 of birds may be seen assembling on the shores. Thousands upon 

 thousands of ducks and water-fowl of almost every kind may 

 be seen living there and enjoying their existence in perfect 

 harmony, sentries keeping watch to give the signal upon the 

 approach of an enemy. Then will be heard the dismal cry of 

 the hungry bird of prey, but as soon as it appears the sentries 

 surround it and the whole of the other birds take their action 

 as a warning signal for them to begin to conceal their little ones. 

 If the bird of prey be very hungry it will try to make a dash into 

 this multitude of living beings. If it be successful in getting 

 amongst them they will all unite to attack it ; they will splash 

 water at it and blind it ; they will gather round it in such numbers 

 and in such a manner as to bewilder it ; and the bird of prey 

 is compelled to retreat. The great destruction comes not in the 

 mature age, but in the young and early days of life, and that 

 is the reason why the birds come together in such numbers 

 to protect their progeny from birds of prey. 



Go to the Arctic lands, where whole mountains are covered with 

 grebes, gulls, and other birds. There you will find millions and 

 millions of birds belonging to twenty difi'erent species living 

 together. You will find the dotterels, which present the ideal of 

 family life, and on that account the inhabitants of the Arctic 

 regions regret to kill them ; countless varieties of ducks ; the 

 egotistic swans, and so on, all living in perfect harmony. The 

 most striking illustration of mutual support among birds is in their 

 migrations. Every year, millions of them leave the northern 

 countries for the shores of Africa and India, coming together in 

 their thousands before they begin their journey, waiting for 

 those which have been kept by their youngsters being not quite 



