SEXUAL SELECTION NESTING OF BIRDS. 239 



which a man does not possess, and furnishes it with 

 a power which, if true, would he wonderful in the 

 extreme. With birds as with man, such an art 

 must be acquired by practice, tuition, imitation, &c. 

 It is no more reasonable to suppose that a son will 

 inherit his father's handicraft, than to presume that 

 a bird is born with the perfect architectural skill of 

 its parents. 



To the present writer it is little short of astonish- 

 ing how deeply-rooted this idea of blind, infallible 

 instinct is, how widely it prevails, how readily it is 

 accepted even by naturalists of some distinction. 

 It must be thrust aside, destroyed, forgotten by 

 every observer who desires to study the fascinating 

 subjects of bird-architecture, avian song, and avian 

 migration in the only way that will yield satisfactory 

 results. 



THE END. 



