INTELLIGENCE OF THE BIRD. 
37 
Falls, and the bristly surface strows 
With the brown swathe's successive rows. 
Ah, take thy heed, nor on her nest 
The partridge ill-secur'd molest ! 
Deep in the grass behold her sit; 
Eeluctant from her couch to flit, 
Though the stout mower's whistling blade, 
Incautious, her abode invade, 
And threaten, 'mid the falling heap, 
Away herself and brood to sweep. 
We may here quote some remarks on the near ap- 
proach to human reason displayed by this bird, f]*om a 
book entitled * The Marvels and Mysteries of Instinct' : — 
Among the remarkable examples in which a combination of in- 
stinct with a skill only to be derived from reasoning, founded on 
observation, has been shown by animals in the protection of their 
young, may be reckoned the arts employed by some birds to allure 
an intruder from the neighbourhood of their nests. Now, whether 
instinct and reason give mutual aid, we are not prepared to say. 
But it does appear to us that the presence of skill, and the power to 
observe, imply the presence of intelligence, and that the quality or 
strength of the latter, as the cause, must be in proportion to the dis- 
plays of the former, as its products. Letus,therefore, take the case of the 
Partridge as an example, and endeavour to form some sort of estimate 
of the kind or amount of skill the stratagem of the old bird requires. 
Such estimate will then be a measure of intelHgence, which must, on 
the intellectual theory, be accorded to those animals of the wing. 
If the act of the parent partridge in alluring away a stranger be a 
rational one, then it is contrived with wonderful ingenuity. Not 
only so, it is even more ; for the birds adopt the most likely means 
possible of answering the end in view. And it must be remarked 
that human intelligence cannot improve their plan, that is, supposing 
it to be put into operation to mislead other animals, or even men, 
who had no previous knowledge or experience of the artifice. The 
plan is most complete in all its parts ; and, under the circumstances 
just named, it is without a defect. The feathered strategists never 
make a mistake, so as to lead the intruder on to their brood of young ; 
but the opposite direction is always unerringly taken. Their object 
in approaching so near the aggressor is evidently to induce him to 
throw his attack upon themselves ; and what can be more tempting 
to their foes than this ? They do more still. They actually tempt 
the enemy to persevere ; and hence their wings are suffered to trail 
along the ground as if broken ; hence also their leaps as if making an 
effort to fly, but cannot ; and finally, their tumbles as if their legs 
were broken. What man or animal will not these exhibitions tempt 
to pursue ? None. The temptation is almost irresistible ; yet this 
