FOREWORD xiii 



lowing pebbles to make themselves heavy for the 

 purpose. 



In physical shape, f onn and colour, the feathered 

 folk have no such narrow limitations as has man. 

 The largest was the elephant-bird (now extinct) 

 which was five times the size of the African ostrich ; 

 the smallest is a tiny purple humming-bird no 

 larger than a little brown bee. Birds inhabit all 

 places: mountains, oceans, the ground, the trees, 

 caves, the Arctic regions, the tropics, the air. In 

 each place, they have worked out a marvellously 

 well-ordered existence. The Arctic goose has even 

 developed a special sac in which she can hatch her 

 eggs in the extreme cold of her home. 



The birds have a distinct social life. They build 

 the most artistic and best equipped homes of all 

 non-human beings. They entertain extensively 

 and have many convivial gatherings. Their family 

 life is exceptionally moral, though there are a few 

 polygamists among them. Divorce is rare, but 

 suicide is often the natural outcome of deep dis- 

 grace. 



There are birds of as many shades of character 

 and disposition as there are types of people. There 

 are the gay, the sad; the sociable, the reserved; the 

 trustful, the shy; the frank, the deceitful; the hon- 

 est, the dishonest; the gentle, the violent; the peace- 



