THE WAYS OF LIFE 251 



was nevertheless accustomed, long before it was full-grown, 

 to retire to a dark corner of the room and give forth its 

 characteristic evening song. Young coots hatched in an 

 incubator utter the same note as their fellows in natural 

 conditions. 



But this cannot be the whole story, for there is no reason 

 to doubt the experiments made by the Hon. Daines Barring- 

 ton, one of Gilbert White's correspondents. He reared lionets 

 imder skylarks, woodlarks, and titlarks, and found that 

 they learned the song of their foster-parent in each case. 

 This points to the conclusion that imitation counts for a 

 great deal. It is Ukely that many young birds learn their 

 song from their parents. Mr. Hudson reports that in the 

 case of the oven-bird the parents sing a sort of duet together, 

 which the young birds, when only partially fledged, prac- 

 tise inside the nest in the intervals when the parents are 

 absent. Mr. G. W. Bulman, a careful observer, gives a cir- 

 cumstantial account of the yellow-hammer's singing lessons. 

 The whole subject requires more attention and, above all, 

 some careful experimenting. 



The intrusion of intelligence upon an instinctive routine 

 is probably seen when a bee that is unable to get at the 

 nectar of a flower in the ordinary legitimate manner, 

 proceeds to cut a hole through the base of the tube. Many 

 years ago Hermann Miiller pointed out that Bombus 

 terrestris, which has a shorter proboscis than some other 

 species of the genus, often tries in vain to suck the flowers 

 of the oxlip {Primula elatior), and that it does not seek the 

 short cut until it has convinced itself by experience that 

 the other method will not work. 



In many cases, however, bees which could suck the flower 

 in the ordinary way, may also bite a hole through. Hermann 



