64 NATURAL HISTORY 



county, attempt a voyage to Goree or Senegal, almost 

 as far as the equator 11 ? 



be an instinctive incitement. It is barely possible that the little wrens 

 might see through the aperture of their covered nest, the parents dusting 

 themselves on the ground in some instances ; but their 'nests are often 

 placed where this could not be perceived, and the desire is equally pow- 

 erful in all individuals. On the other hand, the nestlings of the wood- 

 wren and many others, which wash themselves eagerly on the first 

 opportunity that presents itself, after they can feed themselves, could 

 never have seen the like, their nests having been situated under the roots 

 of a tree, upon a dry bank in a wood. This impulse is therefore inspired 

 by the Creator : and it is inspired with a force that, in captivity, is like 

 unto madness. It is very injurious to a nightingale to wash in the winter, 

 and it is fatal to it to do so often : yet the moment a pan of water is put 

 into its cage it rushes into the water and soaks itself, and then stands 

 shivering, the very image of chilliness and despair; yet, will it eagerly 

 repeat the operation, if allowed to do so, every day till it dies. Young 

 whin chats, sedge warblers, wood wrens, yellow wrens, &c. as soon as they 

 can feed themselves, if offered water in a cage, wash with similar avidity, 

 yet, if the temperature be much under seventy, and the sun not shining, 

 it is sure to kill them. In the younger birds it produces, some hours 

 after, or perhaps the next day, a sudden stroke of palsy, by which they 

 drop with a scream, having lost the use of one or both legs, and often with 

 the mouth distorted. In this state the general health does not seem to 

 be affected, but if both legs are paralyzed, they must soon perish. At a 

 little more advanced age, the consequence of a single washing in cool 

 weather is epileptic fits, which are repeated at shorter intervals, till they 

 occasion death. In a state of liberty, the bird would dry itself quickly 

 by rubbing against the leaves, and by very active motion, in the same 

 manner as the wrens, by perpetual activity, resist the severest frost, of 

 which the least attack would kill them in confinement; and, probably, 

 when birds have opportunities of washing always at hand, they choose 

 the most favourable moments. In a cage, it is necessary to give such 

 birds their water in a very narrow-mouthed fountain, to prevent their 

 killing themselves by washing. They will repeat it with equal eagerness, 

 if not prevented, till they die ; so strong is the inward impulse. I think 

 the desire of washing belongs most strongly to the birds which migrate 

 to hotter climates in winter ; that of dusting to those which remain with 

 us : a substitution wise as all the dispensations of the Creator, for if the 

 little wren in winter were to wash in cold water instead of dusting, it 

 must perish from the chill. 



The next impulse that shows itself is the mutation of love into anti- 

 pathy, not only in the parents, but amongst the young of several species, 

 which impulse is denominated avri^opyij. As soon as the parents of 

 such species as are not gregarious, have completed the education of their 

 brood, they drive them away, while they perhaps give birth to a second 



11 See Adanson's Voyage to Senegal. 



