DEVOTION AND LANGUAGE 



SANITATION 



Some of the nestling birds in open nests, notably 

 the birds of prey, void their excrement over the edge 

 of the nest. With but few exceptions, the birds which 

 are included in the great order Passeres void their 

 excreta in the nest. It is, however, enclosed in a 

 membraneous sac, and is subsequently removed by the 

 parents. In these ways Nature guards against the 

 nests becoming insanitary. There are a few species 

 of birds, however, which utterly neglect nest sanitation. 

 The South African hoopoe is one, and the hornbill 

 is another. 



DEVOTION AND LANGUAGE 



The devotion of parent birds to their young is so 

 great that they will often take the most appalling 

 risks in their defence. I have, on more than one 

 occasion, seen parent birds of small species attack 

 and furiously peck the head of a boomslang (tree 

 snake) when it was in the act of devouring their 

 nestlings. Many and various are the ruses, strata- 

 gems, and methods adopted by birds in defence of 

 their young. 



It pleases us to think we are the only species of 

 living creature on earth capable of speech. Animals, 

 too, have a language of their own. True, it is limited, 

 but nevertheless it is a form of speech. A low cry of 



231 



