28 BRITISH LAND BIRDS. 



winch had been the favourite hiding-place of 

 these birds. Scarcely had they commenced opera- 

 tions, when the magpies showed that they were 

 perfectly aware of what was going forward. They 

 hastened to the spot, and with their bills cleared 

 away the earth from their hidden treasures, which 

 they conveyed, one by one, to some distance. In 

 this way seven or eight bones and bits of bread 

 werf^ disinterred, although some of them had been 

 buried three or four weeks ; thus indicating that 

 the birds perfectly recollected peculiar spots. 

 It is a necessary consequence of the social life 

 in animals that they must possess some 



LANGUAGE, " _ i 



OOMMUNI- means of communication with each other, 



CATION. 



without which the demand for mutual 

 aid would be impracticable. "The language of 

 animals is an intuitive expression of their inward 

 conceptions and wants by signs, looks, or voice." 

 Most animals use particular modifications of sound 

 to communicate their meaning to their young 

 and their companions, and this seems perfectly 

 successful. The various notes of call, of alarm, of 

 impatience, and of joy in the poultry yard are very 

 significant and expressive unmistakable utter- 

 ances of the feelings of anger, grief, fear, or 

 pleasure ; and a person familiar with the notes of 

 wild birds has no difficulty in distinguishing 

 between the notes of pleasure and alarm. 



