196 FALSE ASSOCIATIONS 



But what the wild bird fears most acutely is the 

 sight of a bird of prey, because, albeit traditional 

 like the fear of man, it is an older fear, which has 

 become instinctive (or so I think), and the enemy, 

 from the bird's point of view, is the more deadly 

 one; for man, an often-seen creature, is not always 

 harrying the bird, but the hawk is out to kill always, 

 and each and every bird is in terror lest it should 

 be struck down. Now the fear in the migrant has 

 no visible nor audible cause; nevertheless, it is also 

 an associate feeling, and can only be ascribed to a 

 state of nerves due to something else affecting the 

 bird in a disquieting way; and this disquiet, this 

 mysterious trouble in it, which increases until it is 

 a pain, simulates the state the bird is in when he 

 sees his deadly enemy or when the trouble and terror 

 visible in the bird population surrounding him 

 produces the same effect. A state of suspicion, of 

 alarm, of readiness to rush away into some place 

 of safety. This delusion, or false association as it 

 may be called, is common enough throughout the 

 animal world, and even human beings, who, it 

 has been said, are a little lower than the angels, 

 are subject to it. Thus, my. neighbour's evil eye 

 must be the cause of the otherwise inexplicable fact 

 that my cow or my baby has fallen sick and doesn't 

 get well in spite of all the drugs I make it swallow. 

 It is very common in the dog, which, according to 

 the Youatts, Lubbocks and other authorities, ranks 

 next to man in his mentality. I have seen a good 

 deal of it in the dog. He is by nature a greedy, jeal- 



