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Di\ A. G. Butler,



REASON IN BIRDS.


By Arthur G. Butler, Pb.D.


We who keep living birds notice many instances of their

reasoning' powers, not only in their capacity for learning tricks for

the gratification of their, owners ; or, in the case of talking birds, of

recognizing infallibly every member of a household by his name ; but in

the more natural power of adapting themselves to circumstances in

the construction of their nests and in learning by observation the

method by which the doors of their cages may be opened and acting

upon the knowledge obtained to the annoyance of their owners.


It used to be asserted that man differed from other members of

the Animal Kingdom in his possession of reason, all others being

guided by instinct ; but when one asks oneself what instinct is, one

is forced to the conclusion that it is neither more nor less than

inherited experience acquired through many generations of ancestors,

who have had by reasoning and experiment to solve difficulties.

As with the different races of mankind, birds are by no means

equally gifted in their power of reasoning : consequently I suspect

that there are many birds which could not be taught, like some of

the small finches and parrots, to laboriously pull up their food and

water in order to eat and drink. By the way, whenever I have seen

an unfortunate Redpoll confined in a cage measuring perhaps 10

inches by 8 in floor-space and yet obliged to work for its living, it

has always struck me as adding insult to injury. At the same time

if birds were incapable of reasoning they would never be able to learn

these futile tricks.


Once more, if Parrots were unable to reason, they would

never be able to comprehend the practical meaning of certain

sentences, such as ‘ Give me a bit ” or “ Scratch her poll ” as they

undoubtedly do ; and they would certainly make mistakes in

addressing the members of a household, as they undoubtedly don’t.

I am not at all certain that we don’t very greatly underrate the

intelligence of parrots as regards the comprehension of the things

they say : their remarks are often most startlingly appropriate.


I have elsewhere pointed out how some of my birds, for

obvious reasons, have entirely altered their mode of nidification,



