214 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IV. No. 



to the origin of instinct and the inheritance 

 of acquired habitual actions, and the re- 

 mark of Prof. Wesley Mills (p. 441) that 

 " before drawing conclusions from observa- 

 tions on domestic animals it is well to con- 

 sider similar facts in connection with their 

 wild congeners," have led me to make a 

 few experiments upon a fledgling of our 

 common kingbird (^Tyr annus tyr annus), cap- 

 tured July 2d, as it was taking one of its 

 first lessons in flight. 



As is well known, the kingbird is exclu- 

 sively insectivorous and generally captures 

 its prey on the wing, though it does not re- 

 fuse insects that may lurk in the foliage, and 

 it may occasionally descend to the ground 

 in pursuit of grasshoppers, whose move- 

 ments have betrayed their whereabouts. 

 Being thus in its activities so different from 

 the omnivorous chick, and belonging, more- 

 over, to the great group of Gymnopsedes, 

 or birds, which, naked-born, are fed in the 

 nest, we might expect certain difibrences 

 from the instincts and habits of the preco- 

 cious, downy chick. Such difierences may 

 throw light upon the questions of compara- 

 tive psychology though, as the material for 

 purposes of generalization is augmented, 

 they may prove to be variations of no 

 direct suggestive value. 



From July 2d to the 11th the bird, al- 

 most incessantly calling for food, wa^ kept 

 in the house and fed, from the hand, shreds 

 of meat, moist bread and a few insects. 

 Water was taken from the wet finger, not 

 as a drop from the tip, but finger and all 

 were seized, the subsequent motions of deg- 

 lutition being the same as though any large 

 morsel were being engulfed. To the pres- 

 ent day (July 16th) the bird has utterly 

 refused to accept the pendant drop ; nor 

 could it be induced to peck a drop from a 

 leaf or from the surface of any object what- 

 ever. 



On July 11th I offered the bird a small 

 porcelain dish (such as is used for extract 



of beef) filled with water. Though hun- * 

 gry and presumably thirsty, no effort was 

 made towards taking the water, but the 

 dish was repeatedly seized with the same 

 eager fluttering that characterized the gen- 

 eral reception of any proffered article, edi- 

 ble or not. (It was noted that the tongue 

 during this act was in rapid motion. ) While 

 making an unusually awkward lunge at 

 the edge of the dish the bill was acciden- 

 tally thrust deep into the water, and quickly 

 withdrawn with an unmistakable air of 

 surprise, followed by an effort to eat the 

 water held between the mandibles. The 

 jaws snapped ; the tongue could be seen 

 shooting back and forth, and the head, first 

 held horizontally, was only slowly tipped 

 backward and then, not in the way of the 

 chick, described as instinctively perfect, but 

 after the retching method of mouthing and 

 swallowing any object not readily respon- 

 sive to the contractions of deglutition and 

 which must needs have the added assist- 

 ance of the attraction of gravitation. 



Though the porcelain dish was afterwards 

 repeatedly offered from July 11th to the 

 16th and invariably evoked notes of ap- 

 proval, the bird in securing the liquid 

 always bit the edge and never once dipped 

 the beak beneath the surface, nor drank in 

 the approved method of the chick. The 

 earlier awkward movements, however, were 

 greatly improved through repetition. The 

 substance of the water seemed never to be 

 visually observed, and the empty dish held 

 in the hand evoked the same clamorous ap- 

 proval as when filled with water, and was 

 later recognized even when accidentally 

 met, though a saucer which had not con- 

 tained food or water evoked no sign of 

 interest. 



On the morning of July 12th it was noted 

 that if water was allowed to fall from a 

 height the bird became greatly agitated, 

 opened its mouth and vigorously struck at 

 the descending drops, and several were 



