The Mentality of Wild Birds and Beasties 



could stand with my eye to the inner end and watch 

 from within a few inches everything that went on. 



Just as I was beginning to consider myself well on 

 the road towards proving that the majority of our 

 British birds are not gifted with any great degree of 

 intelligence, during the breeding season at any rate, I 

 met my experimental Waterloo. One day I found a 

 ringed plover's nest containing a full clutch of eggs; 

 these were taken away and replaced by my counterfeits. 

 Upon returning the bird tapped them with her bill, and 

 then turned round and ran away. These tactics 

 were repeated again and again until I became convinced 

 she would not accept full substitution and that it would 

 be wise to compromise with her. Taking two of the 

 dummies away I replaced them by two of the bird's own 

 productions and retired inside a small stone house built 

 five feet away to await developments. When all was 

 quiet again back came the ringed plover. She was 

 evidently under no misapprehension as to the worthless 

 character of my two wooden eggs, and tried again and 

 again to remove them from the nest, but failing to 

 accomplish her purpose finally sat down and covered 

 good and bad alike. I am inclined to think that her 

 attitude towards my artificial eggs was dictated from 

 beginning to end by clear individual intelligence. 



This bird generally lays its eggs in a slight hollow 

 scraped in sand or shingle and lined with small pebbles 

 and sea shells. Her eggs harmonize so well with the 

 coloration of their natural surroundings that it is diffi- 

 cult to detect them a few paces away. Some years ago 



73 



