598 STUDY OF BIRD BEHAVIOUR 



look for is an essential condition of success in the study of natural history, or of any science, 

 it is not the only condition ; there are others that cannot be ignored, and which are almost 

 unconsciously fulfilled in the practice of every good naturalist. One is to record observa- 

 tions with a sole eye to accurate statement, uninfluenced by any prejudice in favour of 

 preconceived theory. Another is to verify. A common error is to argue without hesitation 

 from the individual to the species ; it abounds in the pages of the older naturalists, and is not 

 absent from those of the modern. A third condition of good work is to practise with a 

 religious devotion the precept of the immortal Cuttle : ' When found, make a note of.' And 

 add the date. In the study of wild birds and most other vertebrates there is, need I add, 

 peculiar need of two qualities : patience and the ability to keep still. 



In drawing conclusions there are two dangers worth noting. The first is the tendency to 

 assume in other animals the mental powers of man. A safe familiar rule is to explain by the 

 simple and more primitive rather than by the higher and more complex. A good example of 

 the danger is to explain origin by utility. For instance, the utility of a bird's nest is that it 

 keeps the eggs close together, so that the whole clutch can conveniently be incubated. To 

 affirm, however, that the primitive bird learnt to build a nest in order to keep the eggs 

 together, is to assume that it was, in the first place, capable of remarking that eggs roll down 

 and not up an incline; and, in the second place, of bearing this fact in mind with a view to the 

 annual construction of its nest. It is difficult to see how it could bear it in mind without 

 forming at least a visual mental image. We have no right at present to assume that it can. 

 The utility of the nest, if it does not explain its origin, may well, however, explain its 

 persistence ; the nest survived, or was " selected," because of its fitness for its purpose. Let us 

 add that in this case the affirmation that utility explains the origin of the nest-building 

 instinct involves another unproved assumption, which is not infrequently implicit in the 

 conclusions of naturalists : it is that acquired modes of behaviour can be inherited. The bird 

 having learnt, according to the first assumption, to build its annual nest or nests in order to 

 keep its eggs together, is, according to the second assumption, held capable of transmitting this 

 " habit " to its offspring. There is no proof at present that acquired modifications can be 

 inherited. There is consequently no proof that a habit can become an instinct. 



A second danger is the tendency to balance a pyramid of theory on a pin's point of fact, a 

 feat not uncommonly attempted, and with disastrous results. The tentative hypothesis has, of 

 course, its value, but only on condition of its being raised upon a substantial basis. 



A few words as to equipment. For those who do not use the camera, this is simple : a 

 note-book, a binocular, and a square of waterproof material, not too large to go into the pocket, 

 that will serve to sit upon. Those who use the camera are referred to the article by 

 Mr. Farren. The camera is a useful adjunct, but its use, however skilful, can never be a 

 substitute for the conditions of success laid down above. A good photographer is not 

 necessarily a good observer. Experience, indeed, has shown on more than one occasion that he 

 may have neither the training nor the capacity for exact observation. 



As it is impossible here to deal more than very briefly with the subject of animal 

 behaviour, the reader is referred to the following works : Professor Lloyd Morgan, Animal 

 Behaviour, 1900; Habit and Instinct, 1896 (Arnold); Thorndyke, Animal Intelligence, 1911 ; 

 Washburn, Animal Mind, 1906 (The Macmillan Co., N.Y.). The latter contains a good 

 bibliography. 



II. BIRD-WATCHER'S GUIDE 



There are two methods of observation the direct observation of the animal as a free 

 agent, and experimental observation ; the latter differing from the former in that the animal is 

 watched under certain prearranged conditions that can be repeated at will by the observer. 



