birds has led us up to the question of 

 individuality. 



The mediaeval, selfish and presump- 

 tuous idea so generally accepted until 

 recent years that man was the only cre- 

 ature endowed with higher intelligence 

 has been thoroughly exploded, yet the 

 weight of prejudice, that obstacle to pro- 

 gress, to-day prevents many intelligent 

 people from accepting this truth ; and 

 not infrequently heresy, infidelity, lunacy 

 and other terrible moral or mental con- 

 ditions are insinuated of those who are 

 bold enough to declare themselves be- 

 lievers. 



These terrible possibilities, notwith- 

 standing, we cannot, without prejudice, 

 associate ourselves with the birds or 

 mammals without being convinced that 

 their intellectual conditions differ only 

 in degree of development from our own. 

 Who makes bold to say that birds are 

 not possessed of individual character lefc 

 him weigh well his substantiatory evi- 

 dence against what may be offered in 

 rebuttal. All birds show more or less 

 striking individuality but the groups 

 under consideration undoubtedly show 

 the greatest intellectual development. 



The question of making a private 

 working collection has been previously 

 referred to and shown to be impractic- 

 able save to a man of means with much 

 time at his disposal and we must there- 

 fore depend upon the study of 'the life 

 rather than the dry skin and gain ac- 

 cess if possible to a good public work- 

 ing collection to extend our knowledge 

 of specific variation. 



The argument that these characters in 

 birds held to be higher intelligences are 

 but instinct and are inherited is sup- 

 posed to be insurmountable, yet I shall 

 challenge you in opposition to point out 

 to me the line of division between in- 

 stinct and reason, and failing to do this. 

 I hold that reason is but an evolution of 

 instinct. Have not our changing en- 

 vironments necessitated the exercise of 

 our reasoning powers to enable us to 

 keep pace with our everchanging strug- 

 gle for existence? So as the change of 

 environment and increase of the struggle 

 of existence with the bird is oronortion- 

 ate with man's, will there be found a 

 proportionately increased intellectual de- 

 velopment? We have but to take some 

 of those birds most persistently perse- 

 cuted as obstacles to human progress 

 to prove this phenomenal brain develop- 

 ment. Examples — the crow and .jay 

 family, the English sparrow. 



As a comparison take the members of 

 the goatsucker family, which, because of 



their nocturnal habits, have few natural 

 enemies, and we find a comparatively 

 small brain development and in the in- 

 tellectual what may merely be called an 

 " ecentricity." 



Apart, however, from the revelations, 

 of psychological or phrenological exam- 

 inations, a short unveiling of our eyes 

 from prejudice and the association of 

 ourselves with these interesting subjects 

 in life cannot fail to present these truths 

 to us. 



The examples of human characteristics 

 I will show are : 



Memory — As evidence of this we may 

 but quote the return of birds regularly 

 to an old nesting site. And some would 

 ask, How do you know these were form- 

 er nesters at this place? A nesting site 



Bronzed Grackle. 

 (Quisculus quiscula aenus.) 



being an attraction the first season is 

 liable to be the same a second season. 

 My striking experiences here were two. 

 One case with the swallows, which 

 raised a brood in a box I had erected. 

 The box was blown down during the 

 winter and was removed entirely, yet 

 the morning after the arrival of the 

 swallows the next spring the birds flew 

 about the spot searching for the box, 

 alighting on the roof where it had been 

 placed, and. upon my bringing it out, 

 and while re-erecting it, they were very 

 much concerned and made as much ob- 

 jection to my presence as though they 

 were nesting. In the second case a wren 

 had nested in a hole in an outbuilding 

 for two seasons. During her absence 

 one winter the hole was covered entirely 

 with a piece of board. On her return 

 she sought long and hard for that hole, 

 climbing about the board which covered 

 it in her search and not for some time 

 did she accept another site though they 

 were quite numerous and equally favor- 

 able. -"""•'" 



