64 LEGS AND WINGS 



Looking into nature, we note that the chicks 

 of game-birds and others (ground birds) run 

 off immediately after hatching, and ducklings 

 sometimes fall out of the eggshell into the 

 water where they swim, compatibly with their 

 size, as lustily as the parent. These are not 

 taught ; they have nothing to learn ; the know- 

 ledge of how to do it comes subconsciously. 

 The legs, in these instances, are already stout 

 and strongly developed. On the other hand, 

 the legs of arboreal birds when first hatched 

 are weak and powerless to support the body ; 

 but this class depends on wing power more than 

 legs for locomotion, therefore whilst the flight- 

 feathers are growing there is time enough for 

 the legs to develop. For this reason the birds 

 are confined in a nest until the legs and wings 

 are fit for service. On quitting the nest the 

 young birds are capable of perching and 

 making short flights when occasion demands. 

 The first attempt at flight is, of course, barely 

 more than a flutter, resulting from lack of 

 strength rather than ignorance of how to make 

 use of the wings. 



That birds teach their young to fly is a 

 common belief, and, moreover, one fox which 

 there is some sort of foundation. But when 

 studjdng nature we should be careful not to 

 be deceived by appearances. Let us see how 



