NATURE NOTES. 
30 
lower animals generally. Considering its size, a sparrow has a 
very highly developed nervous system. Birds have never been 
given credit for the amount of brains which they really possess. 
Because they do not know how to fetch and carry like dogs, or 
play with each other’s tails like monkeys, or run round after a 
piece of string like a cat, they are voted slow of comprehension. 
The fact is that we know less of birds than of any other crea- 
tures. They often live quite close to us, they may spend all 
their days in a cage within a yard of our arm-chairs, and yet 
they and we are almost complete strangers. Still within its 
feathered breast there is a history unexpressed, and mankind has 
not yet learned enough of bird language to comprehend the 
meaning of chirps, and trills, and warbles.” 
The text of this article was the sight — the memorable sight 
— observed by Mr. Andrew Crosse, the distinguised naturalist, 
of two robins' playing a game alternately of shamming dead, 
the one being dragged round by the other : 
“ They had not been trained to play this game by any show- 
man’s devices, but they had out of the pure fun and merriment 
of their own hearts, and the liveliness of their bird intellects, 
evolved a game of ‘ Let’s pretend,’ like ‘ Alice in Wonderland,’ 
and carried it out with perfect success. It seems almost impos- 
sible to suppose that any creatures could get up a performance 
of this kind without first communicating their intentions to each 
other by means of sounds. . . . The Quantock Hills story 
shows decisively that we have not at all got to the bottom of 
bird character so far. If a pair of ordinary robin red-breasts are 
capable of having a deliberate ‘ lark ’ of the kind described, we 
shall have to begin to revise our somewhat superficial estimates 
of bird intelligence.” 
I should be glad if any one who has observed similar traits to 
those I have mentioned in caged birds, would kindly describe 
them. 
Thinking of these facts, I threw down the following sonnet 
Joy and Reason in Beast and Bird. 
“Man, know thyself ! ” the ancient sage averred, — 
.Search out thy thought and analyse it clear, 
And fail not to make record of thy fear. 
Source of emotions that thy heart have stirred. 
And give me place to tell of beast and bird. 
Lest thou believe that only in thy ear. 
Does music sound or reasoning appear, 
And that to thee alone is given the Word. 
Nay : to the nightingale his song is sweet ; 
The lark that rises upward from the dew 
Is joyful o’er the song : the wrens repeat 
Their raptures to each other ; ever new 
The signs that lead them on their courses fleet ; 
And reason reigns in plans they oft pursue. 
Alexander H. Japp 
