2 8 BIRD LIFE GLIMPSES 



position, shoved and shouldered away, most 



desperately. After each effort it would lie a little, 



as if exhausted, then waddle to the other egg, and 



settle itself upon it ; then, in a minute or two, 



return to the one it had left, and repeat its efforts 



to extricate it. At last, however, after nearly half-an- 



hour's labour, an idea seemed to occur to it. It 



went again to the properly-placed egg, but instead 



of settling down upon it, as before, began to move it 



to the other one, in the way that I have described. 



" If the mountain will not go to Mahomet, 



Mahomet must go to the mountain " — that was 



clearly the process of reasoning, and seeing how set 



the bird's mind had been on one course of action — 



how it had toiled and struggled and returned to its 



efforts, again and again — its subsequent, sudden 



adoption of another plan showed, I think, both 



intelligence and versatility. It, in fact, acted just 



as a sensible man would -have done. It tried to do 



the best thing, till convinced it was impossible, and 



then did the second best. Having thus got the 



two eggs together again, it tried hard to push away 



the piece of bark — which was half buried in the 



sand — backwards, with its wings, feet, and tail, after 



the manner in which the young cuckoo — in spite 



of the anti-vaccinationists ^ — ejects its foster brothers 



and sisters from the nest. Finally, as it grew dark, 



it flew away. I then went out to look, and found 



that the bird had been successful in its efforts, to a 



certain extent. The two eggs now lay together, 



^ The accuracy of Jenner's observations on this point, was 

 questioned, not long since, by his enemies : but most triumphantly 

 was it vindicated. 



