Locomotion in Young^ Birds. 6r 



"i 



hitherto no experience of obstacles of this kind. It 

 looked hke a hit of congenital moorhen nature, and 

 told, perhaps, of its relationship to the land-rail and 

 the water -rail. 



Very soon such young birds as plovers, partridges, 

 pheasants, guinea-fowls and chicks will begin to run. 

 On their second day of life they will run freely, and 

 one cannot but be struck with the manner in wbich they 

 can guide their course, either to seize their food or to 

 escape from another bird. Quite curious is the way in 

 which a little guinea-fowl will do his best to evade one's 

 grasp when one wishes to put him to bed, running 

 backwards and sideways in a manner I have not noticed 

 in other birds. As a further example of the way in 

 which young birds can very soon make use of their 

 legs, I transcribe one or two notes with respect to French 

 partridges. At twenty-four hours old they were placed 

 in a "rearer" with a warm chamber and an open run, 

 separated by an opening guarded with strips of flannel. 

 In the course of a few hours they learnt how to run in 

 and out of the warm chamber, and in the chamber to 

 nestle round the warm pipe covered with cotton-wool. 

 At thirty-four hours old, while I was giving one food, I 

 left the other in the run, placing a cigarette-box 8^- inches 

 high before the opening to the warm chamber. He 

 jumped up on to it, though it was twice his own height, 

 and got through the curtain of flannel strips into the 

 chamber. I then placed the other in the run. He made 

 a jump at the box, and missed ; jumped again, and 

 successfully landed on the top. He then ran round on 

 the box, avoiding the edge, and in a minute jumped 

 through the curtain and joined the other, which was 

 "peeping" inside. Next evening he jumped out of the 

 rearer, a height of more than 7 inches. 



