114 INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOUR 
birds which, through congenital variation of behaviour, acted 
in this way would certainly enable their offspring to escape 
destruction by enemies, and these would survive to perpetuate 
the instinct.” 
Let us expand the transmissionist position a little further. 
An extremist, of the type presented by Eimer, would perhaps 
urge that the lapwing reasons thus: “If I pretend to be 
wounded, trail my wing, and flutter along the ground, instead 
of flying off, I shall draw upon myself the intruder’s attention, 
and lead him to suppose that I shall be easily caught ; and if 
I thus entice him away, my little ones will be saved, and my 
end gained.” Thus, it may be said, might the bird argue, 
and then give practical effect to its reasoning. But are we 
not here attributing to the lapwing powers of ratiocination 
beyond the capacity of the most intelligent of birds? Are 
we not assuming a histrionic power, and a realization of the 
effects on others of its display, which many a human actor 
might well covet ? 
“But may not the bird,” it may be urged in reply, “have 
found by experience, without any elaborate process of abstract 
reasoning, that the trick is effectual?” In any case it would 
be experience perilously acquired. Granting that the bird has 
the wit to try the trick, a little over-acting, a little too much 
lameness of wing, and she is herself seized and killed ; a little 
under-acting, and the trick fails—her brood is found and 
destroyed. Does it not seem probable that such experience 
would be dearly bought, that failure would mean either death 
to the parent or death to the offspring? And is it not clear 
that natural selection is thus introduced in any case? And 
may not the selectionist pertinently ask: “ Why, if natural 
selection is thus introduced as a factor, halt midway between 
two hypotheses? Why not take the further step—one by 
which all the difficulties attending the intelligent acquisition 
and the biological transmission are alike avoided—of allowing 
that natural selection exercises, throughout, its influence on 
congenital variations, and not on acquired modifications of 
behaviour ?” 
