BIOLOGY 



on a second's notice. All these birds but the last wanted 

 their own nests and were within a yard of them without 

 knowing it. 



In all such cases, even when a bird got established on 

 the wrong nest, there was always an adjustment after- 

 wards. When they calmed down they became uneasy, 

 probably observing the landmarks more critically, and 

 would even leave a nest with chicks for their own empty 

 nest. A chick removed from the nest and put alongside 

 was not recognised, and the old bird never seemed to 

 connect the facts of the empty nest and the chick beside 

 it. If a chick were taken from the nest under the old 

 bird's very eyes and held in front of it, it was always the 

 chick that was viciously attacked, not the aggressor. 



Some experiments were tried on them in order to trace 

 the workings of the penguin mind. If a man stood 

 between a bird and its nest so as to prevent it from getting 

 onto it, the bird would make many attempts to reach 

 home, rushing furiously at the man. After a time it 

 would appear to meditate, and then walk off rather dis- 

 consolately, make a tour of the colony to which it belonged, 

 and approach the nest from another side. It appeared 

 greatly astonished that the intruder was still there. This 

 curious trait was often seen. It is hke the ostrich burying 

 its head in the sand and imagining it is safe, or like a 

 man refusing to believe his own eyes. It appears to think 

 that if it takes a turn round, or comes to its nest from 

 the other side, the horrible vision will disappear. 



A bird was taken from a nest which had a chick in it 

 and put down at a little distance. Meantime the chick 

 was put in a neighbour's nest. Presently the bird came 

 running up. It started back on seeing the empty nest, 

 not in alarm or fear, but exactly as if thinking: "I've 

 come to the wrong house ! " trotted off to a distant part 



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