CHAP. I. 



INSTINCT AMONG BIRDS. 



17 



of the young which are hatched from the other was 

 considered incredible, when first announced as a fact by 

 this well-known traveller ; but subsequent observations 

 have, in this instance, and in many others, only proved 

 his veracity. The number of eggs which the ostrich 

 usually sits upon is ten. But the Hottentots, who are 

 very fond of them, upon discovering a nest, seize fitting 

 opportunities to remove one or two at a time : this in- 

 duces the bird to deposit more ; and in this manner she 

 has been known, like the domestic hen, to lay between 

 forty and fifty in a season. The pelican is stated to 

 preserve her eggs from injury, by hiding them in the 

 water until the fancied danger is removed.* The 

 razorbill fixes hers on the smooth rock, with so exact 

 a balance, that, if removed, and afterwards attempted to 



be replaced, it is 

 difficult, if not im- 

 possible, to adjust 

 it safe in the same 

 position, t Le 

 Vaillant remarks, 

 that the African 

 Anhinga (fig. 2.), 

 or darter, which is 

 a completely aqua- 

 tic bird, neverthe- 

 less builds its nest and rears its young on rocks and 

 trees ; yet the former is so constructed, that, at any mo- 

 ment of pressing danger, when the young are once able 

 to swim, the mother can plunge them into the water be- 

 neath. J 



(20.) The expedients by which birds provide their 

 food is often equally sagacious ; none, however, show 

 a more wonderful instinct in effecting this purpose, than 

 those of the genus Indicator, or honey-guide. Dr. Spar- 

 man, the African traveller and naturalist, was the first 

 who made this singular statement. He says, that, when 



Clark's Travels. f Pen. Brit. ZooL vol. ii. p. 510. 



% Le Vaillant's Travels in Africa, vol. iii. p. 184. 







