176 THE PSYCHICAL KINSHIP 



chimneys shows that birds are able and willing to 

 adapt themselves to new conditions. The chimney- 

 swift and purple martin, it is said, still cling to 

 their aboriginal custom of rearing their young in 

 hollow trees in the unsettled parts of America. The 

 indomitable house-sparrow builds its nest almost 

 anywhere, from knot-holes and tin cans to electric- 

 light globes and tree-tops. Its original dwelling 

 was probably an arboreal affair, like that of other 

 sparrows, and different nesting-places have been 

 adopted as a result of its association with man. 

 Not only in its architecture, but in several other 

 ways/this bird has departed from the traditions of 

 its tribe. The Fringillidae (the sparrow family 

 of birds) are seed-eaters, both in structure and 

 practice. But the house-sparrow, since it left the 

 fields and groves to become a gamin on human 

 streets, has learned to eat almost anything, and 

 one thing, too, about as cheerfully as another. 

 The varied habits of this bird are probably due to 

 its natural elasticity in the first place, supple- 

 mented by the unsettling influences of its rather 

 kaleidoscopic experiences during the past few 

 hundred years. 



The fear of birds for man is an acquired trait 

 due to ages of persecution. If man would treat 

 birds kindly, they would act toward him as they 

 do toward any other friendly animal. When 

 unfrequented islands are first visited by man, the 

 birds are found to be perfectly fearless of him, 

 flying about him, feeding from his hand, and 

 manifesting no more timidity than if he were a 



