Intelligefice. 107 



may vary according to the different conditions of 

 the bird. And lastly, there is the skill to combine 

 the materials ; and this comes by the same sort of 

 law as that by which the talons of the bird of prey are 

 fitted for their work, or ornaments of color and 

 form of feather are so skilfully arranged on birds 

 as to challenge the admiration of the greatest mas- 

 ters of art. The perfect form of beak and talon and 

 the ornamentation of feathers are the result of 

 growth ; but because the work of building nests in- 

 volves volition, the same sort of wisdom and skill 

 are often referred to the bird as would be found in 

 a human being who could perform the same work. 

 But a human being having Intelligence, that is, the 

 power of comprehending the relation of means to 

 ends, would be compelled to study and work long 

 to gain the knowledge and skill which the bird has 

 as an original gift — as it has fine feathers without 

 borrowing them and artistic ornaments without la- 

 bor or price. Intelligence, wherever found, has the 

 blessed privilege of laboring in order to learn, and 

 the condition of enjoyment through learning, never 

 ends; but the knowledge and skill of Instinct come 

 without effort. There is no joy in acquiring and 

 no basis for self-improvement from Instinct alone. 

 The animal doomed to live under the guidance of 

 Instinct alone, has its knowledge and skill at the 

 appointed time as regularly and as spontaneously 

 as hunger or thirst. 



That birds may have a ray of Intelligence we 

 shall not here pretend to deny. When we come to 

 trace out the relation of instinctive acts to the 



