726 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXV. No. 645 



including grasping movements of limbs, 

 elevation of head, opening of mouth, and 

 the swallowing reiiex in response to con- 

 tact of bill of old bird or of food in deep 

 part of throat {in the altricial species) ; 

 characteristic actions in muting following 

 feeding, in response to the stimulus of food 

 and the attitude of inspection in adult; 

 call-notes, pecking and gaping, stretching 

 and spreading in response to heat, flapping, 

 fear and flight; (7) calling (teasing), fol- 

 lowing, crouching and hiding, play, imita- 

 tion, preying and flight; (8) fall migra- 

 tion. 



The formula of the reproductive cycle 

 given above is a composite, which with 

 slight changes will apply to most of our 

 common wild birds. In the most aberrant 

 cases of behavior, where the parental in- 

 stincts have been reduced to a minimum as 

 in the cow buntings of North America and 

 in some of the megapodes, the cycle ends 

 abruptly with term 4, and in the cowbird 

 there is no attempt to either build a nest 

 or to conceal the eggs. 



Some Features in the Behavior of the Star- 

 fish: H. S. Jennings, Johns Hopkins 

 University. 



The paper gave an analysis of the right- 

 ing reaction of the starfish, and showed 

 that the animal could, by a systematic 

 course of training, be caused to form a 

 habit of righting itself in a certain definite 

 way. 



Movement and Prohlem-solving in Ophiura 

 hrevispina: 0. C. Glasee, University of 

 Michigan. 



1. Ophiura hrevispina moves in prac- 

 tically all of the ways possible to a pen- 

 taradiate animal. 



2. Its behavior in removing obstructions 

 from its arms is not perfected by practise 

 under ordinary conditions. 



3. Preyer's conclusion that Ophiurans 

 are intelligent is not substantiated by this 



study; for not only is it impossible to 

 demonstrate 'resolution' or improvement, 

 by the method that he employed, but the 

 assertion that an animal is intelligent be- 

 cause when stimulated it performs varied 

 movements until some one of these brings 

 about cessation of the stimulus, leads into 

 difficulties, for these animals often perform 

 in instantaneous succession movements 

 that fail for the same reason. Ophiura, 

 moreover, hardly ever executes a single 

 movement, but usually a considerable 

 number. Each of these on Preyer's view 

 results in learning, but it is impossible 

 without striking evidence to the contrary, 

 to believe that Ophiurans can learn half a 

 dozen things at the same time. If some of 

 all the movements performed at a certain 

 instant are 'correct,' the case is farther 

 complicated in that some of all the things 

 which the animal learns fall into the cate- 

 gory of successes, some into the category 

 of failures. 



4. The reason why Ophiura hrevispina 

 does not improve under ordinarj' circum- 

 stances is probably due to its versatility. 

 This animal can perform a surprising num- 

 ber of movements. Of all these some are 

 better fitted to meet a certain difficulty 

 than others, but a considerable number will 

 serve the purpose. Where the number of 

 solutions to a problem is large, it is not sur- 

 prising that no particular method of solu- 

 tion should be perfected, viz. : that resolu- 

 tion should not occur. 



The Breeding Hahits of the Florida Alli- 

 gator: Albeet M. Reese, Syracuse Uni- 

 versity. 



The habits of the alligator Avere studied 

 during parts of three summers in the 

 Everglades, in the swamps of central 

 Florida, and in the Okefenokee Swamp. 

 The time of laying is the month of June, 

 usually during the second and third weeks. 

 The nests, which are built on the bank near 



