28 BIRD LIFE GLIMPSES 



position, shoved and shouldered away, most 

 desperately. After each effort it would lie a little, 

 as if exhausted, then waddle to the other egg, and 

 settle itself upon it ; then, in a minute or two, 

 return to the one it had left, and repeat its efforts 

 to extricate it. At last, however, after nearly half-an- 

 hour's labour, an idea seemed to occur to it. It 

 went again to the properly-placed egg, but instead 

 of settling down upon it, as before, began to move it 

 to the other one, in the way that I have described. 

 " If the mountain will not go to Mahomet, 

 Mahomet must go to the mountain " that was 

 clearly the process of reasoning, and seeing how set 

 the bird's mind had been on one course of action 

 how it had toiled and struggled and returned to its 

 efforts, again and again its subsequent, sudden 

 adoption of another plan showed, I think, both 

 intelligence and versatility. It, in fact, acted just 

 as a sensible man would have done. It tried to do 

 the best thing, till convinced it was impossible, and 

 then did the second best. Having thus got the 

 two eggs together again, it tried hard to push away 

 the piece of bark which was half buried in the 

 sand backwards, with its wings, feet, and tail, after 

 the manner in which the young cuckoo in spite 

 of the anti-vaccinationists l ejects its foster brothers 

 and sisters from the nest. Finally, as it grew dark, 

 it flew away. I then went out to look, and found 

 that the bird had been successful in its efforts, to a 

 certain extent. The two eggs now lay together, 



1 The accuracy of Jenner's observations on this point, was 

 questioned, not long since, by his enemies : but most triumphantly 

 was it vindicated. 



