82 Habit and Instinct. 



chick (matters having really gone too far !) and had gently- 

 carried it a yard or so across the room. He dropped it 

 at once, and looked sufficiently sheepish ; but the chick 

 was quite unhurt, and apparently not much, if at all, 

 frightened, showing no fear of the dog half an hour later. 

 Neither chicks, pheasants, nor jays — not even the little fly- 

 catchers — showed any signs of dread of a kitten, nor did 

 chicks of an older cat. 



The moorhen chicks, though not afraid of me, always 

 struck their odd attitude and scolded, or seemed to scold, 

 when I picked them up. They liked to be caressed in the 

 hand, and would come to my call, and their scolding as 

 I gently grasped them was probably only an energetic 

 demand for worms. They struck the same attitude before 

 the dog when he smelt at them ; but, when he lay down, 

 would peck at his toes and the points of his ears with 

 consummate impertinence. He took one or other of them 

 in his mouth two or three times, but quite gently. The 

 one which was taken to Yorkshire came up one afternoon 

 when the dog was lapping from the tin which contained 

 the birds' water, and pecked vigorously at his nose, 

 following it up with a dab which narrowly missed his eye. 

 On another occasion the moorhen hopped on to and sat 

 on the edge of the basin in which was the terrier's sopped 

 biscuit, and pecked the dog when he came for his share. 

 It must be mentioned that Tony is very gentle in his 

 ways, except where rats, rabbits, and such fair game 

 are concerned, and never acted aggressively towards the 

 birds. The moorhen was not afraid of the large gentle 

 sheep-dogs on the farm. But how a blundering, vigorous 

 puppy scared him and made him dive we remember. 



While there are, no doubt, specific and individual 

 differences, some birds being naturally shyer and more 

 timid than others, there is not apparently much difference 



