CHAPTER IX 



The emotions of birds — Mentality higher than is supposed, but 

 variable according to species or groups — Strong- and weak- 

 minded birds— Intelligence and stupidity — The limitations 

 of instinct — ^Expression of the emotions and its relation to 

 courting displays — ^Love and sociability — Hatred and re- 

 venge — ^The police instinct — ^Monogamy, polygamy, and 

 polyandry — ^The problem of preferential mating. 



The facts detailed in the last chapter seem to 

 indicate that most birds have much the same 

 sense-facilities for acquiring a knowledge of the 

 outside world that we ourselves possess, and so it 

 is not surprising that they are, as far as we can 

 make out at present, as much like us in mind and 

 emotions as we can expect any of the lower animals 

 to be. One might in fact expect them in some 

 respects to be more human-minded than many 

 mammals, owing to their erect position in all cases, 

 frequent habit of perching, and general power of 

 flight — aU tending to give them a wider outlook 

 than quadrupeds — in addition to the habit of 

 getting information from sight and hearing as 

 we do, and not, like most of the lower mammals, 

 thinking through their noses and thus getting an 

 entirely different set of impressions to guide their 

 conduct. 



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