Parental and Early Instincts. 1 1 5 



times only once, and in a much lower tone than in 

 fowls of other breeds. 



If we may assume that these fowls, in their long, 

 semi-independent existence in La Plata, have re- 

 verted to the original instincts of the wild Gallus 

 bankiva, we can see here how advantageous the 

 cackling instinct must be in enabling the hen in 

 dense tropical jungles to rejoin the flock after laying 

 an egg. If there are egg-eating animals in the 

 jungle intelligent enough to discover the meaning of 

 such a short, subdued cackling call, they would still 

 be unable to find the nest by going back on the 

 bird's scent, since she flies from the nest in the 

 first place ; and the wild bird probably flies further 

 than the creolla hen of La Plata. The clamorous 

 cackling of our fowls would appear then to be 

 nothing more than a perversion of a very useful 

 instinct. 



