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The KATURALisa?. 



INHERITED INSTINCT. 



In the Contemporary Review for July, there is an article by the Duke 

 of Argyle, on " Animal Instinct, and its relation to the mind of 

 Man," in which he cites two or three instances of what is called 

 inherited instinct which are worth recording, although we do not 

 altogether agree with His Grace's conclusions thereon. One of these 

 relates to the Dipper, or water ouzel (Gindiis aquaticus), the curious 

 habits of diving of which are well known to ornithologists. He says, 

 "A pair of these birds built their nest last year at Inverary, in a 

 hole in the wall of a small tunnel, constructed to carry a rivulet 

 under the walks of a pleasure ground. The season was one of great 

 drought, and the rivulet during the whole time of incubation and of 

 the growth of the young in the nest, was entirely dry. One of the 

 nestlings when almost fully fledged was taken out by hand for 

 examination, an operation which so alarmed the others, that they 

 darted out of the hole, and ran and fluttered down the tunnel towards 

 its mouth. At that point a considerable pool of water had survived 

 the drought, and lay in the path of the fugitives. They did not 

 appear to seek it : on the contrary, their flight seemed to be as 

 aimless as that of any other fledging would have been in the same 

 predicament. But one of them stumbled into the pool. The effect 

 \fas most curious. When the young bird touched the water, there 

 was a moment's pause, as if the creature were surprised. Then 

 instantly there seemed to awake within it the sense of its hereditary 

 powers, Down it dived with all the facility of its parents, and the 

 action of the wings under the water was a beautiful exhibition of the 

 double adaptation to progression in two very different elements, which 

 is peculiar to the wings of most of the diving birds. The young 

 Dipper was immediately lost to sight among some weeds, and so long 

 did it remain under water, that I feared it must be drowned, but in 

 due time it reappeared all right, and being recaptured, was replaced 



in the nest. There was no possibility of imitation here. The 



rivulet beneath the nest, even if it had been visible, had been dry 

 ever since they had been hatched. The river into which it flowed 

 was out of sight. The young Dippers never could have seen the 

 parent birds either swimming or diving. This, therefore, is one of 

 the thousand cases which have driven the " experience " school of 

 philosophy to take up new ground : " it is truly a case of inherited 

 instinct. 



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