332 wiur SCENES ANE SONG-BIRDS. 



*I remember fcMjave reared one of these birds from the 

 nest ; which, whep'full grown, became very tame and docile. 

 I frequently let ,hirii out of his cage to give him a taste of 

 liberty ; after fluttering and dusting himself in dry sand and 

 earth, and bathing, washing and dressing himself, he would 

 proceed to hunt insects, such as beetles, crickets, and other 

 shelly tribes ; but, being very fond of wasps, after catching 

 them, and knocking them about, to break their wings, he 

 would lay them down, then examine if they had a sting, and, 

 with his bill, squeeze the abdomen to clear it of the reservoir 

 of poison, before he would swallow his prey. When in his 

 cage, being very fond of dry crusts of bread, if, upon trial, 

 the corners of the crumbs were too hard and sharp for his 

 throat, he would throw them up, carry and put them in his 

 water dish to soften ; then take them out and swallow them. 

 Many other remarkable circumstances might be mentioned 

 that would fully demonstrate faculties of mind, not only 

 innate, but acquired ideas, (derived from necessity in a state 

 of domestication,) which we call understanding and knowl- 

 edge. We see that this bird could associate those ideas, ar- 

 range and apply them, in a rational manner according to cir- 

 cumstances. For instance, if he knew that it was the hard 

 sharp corners of the crumb of bread that hurt his gullet, and 

 prevented him from swallowing it, and that the water would 

 soften and render it easy to be swallowed, this knowledge 

 must be acquired by observation and experience ; or some 

 other bird taught. Here the bird perceived, by the effect, 

 the cause, and then took the quickest, the most effectual and 

 agreeable method to remove that cause. What could the 

 wisest man have done better ? Call it reason or instinct, it 

 is the same that a sensible man would have done in this 

 case. 



" * After the same manner this bird reasoned in respect to 

 the wasps. He found, by experience and observation, that 

 the first he attempted to swallow hurt his throat and gave 

 him extreme pain ; and upon examination, observed that the 



