266 ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE. 



CHAPTER X. 



BIRDS. 



Adequately to treat of tlie intelligence of birds a separate 

 volume would be required ; here it must be enough to 

 deal with this class as I shall afterwards deal with the 

 Mammalia — namely, by giving an outline sketch of the 

 more prominent features of their psychology. 



Memory, 



The memory of birds is well developed. Thus, although 

 -we are much in the dark on the whole subject of migration 

 — so much so that I reserve its discussion with all the 

 problems that this presents for a separate chapter in my 

 next work — we may at least conclude that the return of 

 the same pair of swallows every year to the same nest must 

 be due to the animals remembering the precise locality of 

 their nests. Again, Buckland gives an account of a pigeon 

 which remembered the voice of its mistress after an 

 ^absence of eighteen months ; ^ but I have not been able to 



^ Curiosities, &c., p. 126. Wilson also, in his American Ornithology y 

 gives the foUowingsufficiently credible account of the memory of a crow: — 

 * A gentleman who resided on the Delaware, a few miles below Easton, had 

 raised [reared] a crow, with whose tricks and society he used frequently 

 to amuse himself. This crow lived long in the family, but at length 

 disappeared, having, as was then supposed, been shot by some vagrant 

 gimner, or destroyed by accident. About eleven months after this, as 

 the gentleman one morning, in company with several others, was stand- 

 ing on the river shore, a nimiber of crows happened to pass by ; one of 

 them left the flock, and flying directly towards the company, alighted 

 on the gentleman's shoulder, and began to gabble away with great 

 volubility, as one long-absent friend naturally enough does on meeting 

 another. On recovering from his surprise the gentleman instantly 

 recognised his old acquaintance, and endeavoured, by several civil but 

 sly manoeuvres, to lay hold of him ; but the crow, not altogether relish- 

 ing quite so much famiUarity, having now had a taste of the sweets of 



