Some Habits and Instincts of Young Birds. 45 



chicks, though thirsty, did not recognize water by sight, 

 " except, perhaps, in the form of dew-drops on the grass ; 

 and they had, to some extent, to learn to drink. . . . 

 They pecked at the water, or rather at specks in the water, 

 or at the edge of the water." Dr. Mills says,* "When water 

 is presented to the chicks they peck at some drops on the 

 side of the tin containing the water, and accidentally get 

 the beak into the water, when drinking follows." I set 

 before my chicks a shallow vessel containing water. 

 Several of them ran repeatedly through the tin, but took no 

 notice of its contents. Then, after about an hour, one of 

 them standing in the vessel pecked at its toes, and at once 

 lifted its head and drank freely with characteristic action. 

 Another subsequently pecked at a bubble near the brim, 

 and then drank. The touch of water in the bill at once 

 led to the characteristic responsive and congenitally definite 

 action. I found, indeed, that the best way of inducing them 

 to drink was to place some grains of food in the tin of 

 water. They then pecked at the food, and incidentally dis- 

 covered the nature of water. As an example of the associa- 

 tion on which the intelligent procedure of animals is so 

 largely founded, it may be worth noting that a chick which 

 had drunk but once while he was standing in the shallow 

 tin, a little later ran through the water, and then stopped 

 to drink. "Wet feet seemed to have suggestive value through 

 association in previous experience. 



Ducklings showed no more instinctive acquaintance 

 with the nature of water than chickens. They walked 

 several times through the water, but took no heed of it. On 

 dipping the beak of one of them beneath the surface, it 

 then drank repeatedly, shovelling up the water with 

 characteristic action. Its companion subsequently imitated 

 its behaviour, and then drank freely. Pheasants, too> 



* Trans. B. S. Canada, Sect, iv., 1895, p. 250. 



