INSTINCT AND REASON. 



C^lN a recent issue of the New York 

 Evoiing Post^ Caroline H. Dall 

 writes interestingly on this 

 <? } I subject as follows : 



" I wish to draw the attention 

 of such of your readers as are interested 

 in the discussion of the nature of 

 instinct, to a curious example of it, as 

 distinct from reason, which I have 

 lately witnessed. 



" Entering the parlor of a friend the 

 other day, my attention was instantly 

 attracted to a Florida Mockingbird. 

 He was flying about in an eager 

 manner, with something like a long 

 black straw in his bill. My friend 

 entering, I asked : ' What is your 

 bird doing?' 'Building a nest,' she 

 answered. ' Has he a mate ? ' ' No, 

 he has never had one,' she replied, 

 'nor has he ever seen a nest. That 

 black straw is a shaving of whalebone 

 which lasts him better than anything 

 else.' At this moment the bird flew 

 into a corner of the cage, and, stoop- 

 ing, dropped the whalebone, waited a 

 moment as if for some response, and 

 then flew away to repeat the manoevre. 



" ' Does he not want something soft?' 

 I asked. ' I sometimes give him yarn 

 or'wool ; he tears it all up, works it all 

 over, and then carries it to that corner. 

 He evidently thinks it his duty to 

 provide material, but he does not 

 undertake to use it.' 'And what will 

 he do next?' I asked. ' He will, after 

 a day or two, brood over that corner, 

 sitting close and spreading his wings 

 out as broadly as possible. He does 

 this two or three times a day.' ' And 

 after that ? ' ' Later the paternal in- 

 stinct seems to be aroused in a different 

 way. He goes to his food cup, takes 

 some food in his mouth, and drops it 

 into his corner. He repeats this several 

 times, as if he were feeding his young. 

 I do not know how many young birds 

 he ought to expect, but I should like 

 to know, to see if he counts right ! ' 



" I have sometimes known a male 

 canary to build a nest in the spring, 

 carrying the process nearer to comple- 

 tion, but I have never heard of an 

 instance like this, and think it may 

 interest others than myself." 



In spite of all the efforts that have 

 been made in the interests of common 

 sense and common humanity, there 

 appears to be no doubt that the savage 

 and indiscriminate slaughter of all 

 birds of bright plumage is still going 

 on for the gratification of feminine 

 vanity. Indeed, the position of the 

 unfortunate birds possessing the fatal 

 gift of beauty seems to be worse than 

 ever. There was sold the other day in 

 lyondon a consignment of nearly half a 

 million birds, or, parts of birds, as 

 follows: Osprey plumes, 11,352 ounces; 

 Vulture plumes, 186 pounds ; Peacock 

 feathers, 215,051 bundles; Birds of 

 Paradise, 2,362 bundles; Indian Parrots, 

 228,289 bundles ; Bronze Pigeons, 



including the Goura, 1,677 bundles; 

 Tanagers and sundry birds, 38,198 

 bundles; Humming birds, 116,490 

 bundles ; Jays and Kingfishers, 48,759 

 bundles ; Impeyan and other jungle 

 fowl, 4,952 bundles ; Owls and Hawks, 

 7,163 bundles. In one of the most 

 widely circulated English papers the 

 fashionable news from Paris begins : 

 " Birds are worn more than ever, and 

 blouses made entirely of feathers are 

 coming into fashion." '' Rare tropical 

 feathers," ordered by specialists from 

 abroad, are specified as those most 

 likely to be in demand, but no bird of 

 any kind is safe that has a feather 

 capable of being used for feminine 

 decoration. 



73 



