GATHERED BY THE WAY 



species of bird will occasionally learn the song of 

 another species, but the song impulse must be there 

 to begin with, and this must be stimulated in the 

 right way at the right time. A caged English spar- 

 row has been known to learn the song of the canary 

 caged with or near it, but the sparrow certainly 

 inherits the song impulse. One has proof of this 

 when he hears a company of these sparrows sitting 

 in a tree in spring chattering and chirping in unison, 

 and almost reaching an utterance that is song-like. 

 Our cedar-bird does not seem to have the song im- 

 pulse, and I doubt if it could ever be taught to sing. 

 In like manner our ruffed grouse has but feeble vocal 

 powers, and I do not suppose it would learn to crow 

 or cackle if brought up in the barn-yard. It expresses 

 its joy at the return of spring and the mating season 

 in its drum, as do the woodpeckers. 



The recent English writer Richard Kearton says 

 there is " no such dead level of unreasoning instinct " 

 in the animal world as is popularly supposed, and 

 he seems to base the remark upon the fact that he 

 found certain of the cavities or holes in a hay-rick 

 where sparrows roosted lined with feathers, while 

 others were not lined. Such departures from a level 

 line of habit as this are common enough among all 

 creatures. Instinct is not something as rigid as cast 

 iron; it does not invariably act like a machine, 

 always the same. The animal is something alive, 

 and is subject to the law of variation. Instinct may 

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