92 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



fluttering bird. But in thus drawing upon itself the 

 attention of an enemy threatening the safety of its 

 eggs or young, to what a terrible danger does the 

 parent expose itself, and how often, in those moments 

 of agitation and debility, must its own life fall a 

 sacrifice ! The sudden spring and rush of a feline 

 enemy must have proved fatal in myriads of instances. 

 From its inception to its most perfect stage, in the 

 various species that possess it, this perilous instinct 

 has been washed in blood and made bright. 



What I have just said, that the peculiar instinct 

 and deceptive action we have been considering is 

 made and kept bright by being bathed in blood, 

 applies to all instinctive acts that tend to the pre- 

 servation of life, both of the individual and species. 

 Necessarily so, seeing that, for one thing, instinct 

 can only arise and grow to perfection in order to 

 meet cases which commonly occur in the life of 

 a species. The instinct is not prophetic and does 

 not meet rare or extraordinary situations. Unless 

 intelligence or some higher faculty comes in to 

 supplement or to take the place of instinctive action, 

 then the creature must perish on account of the 

 limitation of instinct. Again, the higher and more 

 complete the instinct the more perilous it is, seeing 

 that its efficiency depends on the absolutely perfect 

 health and balance of all the faculties and the entire 

 organism. Thus, the highest instinctive faculty and 



