INSTINCT OF SOME SUPERIOR ANIMALS. 1 93 



Indeed, the young cuckoo has never known a 

 parent's care, since it is brought up in the nest 

 of some other bird ; yet it leaves this country 

 long after others of the same species, being then 

 a solitary individual, and finds its way to the 

 groves of Greece and the sunny regions of Italy. 

 Now, it is quite clear that this extraordinary 

 migratory instinct must have been implanted in 

 this and various other birds by a merciful 

 Creator for purposes intended for their well- 

 being in climates congenial to their respective 

 wants. And then with what pleasure may we 

 listen to the songs of numerous warblers which 

 arrive amongst us in this blessed country, the 

 nightingale being amongst them, cheering us 

 with their music, and proclaiming the loving- 

 kindness of our heavenly Father ! 



But this migratory instinct is not confined to 

 birds. The extensive plains of North America 

 were formerly more frequented by vast herds of 

 buffaloes than they are at present, in conse- 

 quence of the destructive attacks made upon 

 them, not only by the Red Indians, but by the 

 American settlers. At certain periods a strong 

 migratory impulse seizes upon those great herds, 

 and they rush along the plains, cross rivers, 



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