Chap. VIIL] CHANGES OF HABIT OE INSTINCT. 325 



of this even in England, in the greater wildness of all 

 our large birds in comparison with our small birds ; 

 for the large birds have been most persecuted by man. 

 We may safely attribute the greater wildness of our large 

 birds to this cause ; for in uninhabited islands large birds 

 are not more fearful than small ; and the magpie, so wary 

 in England, is tame in Norway, as is the hooded crow 

 in Egypt. 



That the mental qualities of animals of the same kind, 

 born in a state of nature, vary much, could be shown 

 by many facts. Several cases could also be adduced of 

 occasional and strange habits in wild animals, which, if 

 advantageous to the species, might have given rise, 

 through natural selection, to new instincts. But I am 

 well aware that these general statements, without the 

 facts in detail, will produce but a feeble effect on the 

 reader's mind. I can only repeat my assurance, that I do 

 not speak without good evidence. 



Inherited Changes of Habit or Instinct in Domesticated 



Animals, 



The possibility, or even probability, of inherited varia- 

 tions of instinct in a state of nature will be strengthened 

 by briefly considering a few cases under domestication. 

 We shall thus be enabled to see the part which habit 

 and the selection of so-called spontaneous variations have 

 played in modifying the mental qualities of our domestic 

 animals. It is notorious how much domestic animals 

 vary in their mental qualities. With cats, for instance, 

 one naturally takes to catching rats, and another mice, 

 and these tendencies are known to be inherited. One 

 cat, according to Mr. St. John, always brought home 

 game-birds, another hares or rabbits, and another hunted 



