Chirps and 
Chatter. 
( 95 ) 
THE BIRD WORLD. 
CKirps and CKatter. 
Instinct or Imitation. Which? 
Dr. Wallace, the great exponent of 
Darwinism, who carries his denial of 
“ instinct ” in the commonly understood 
sense of that word further, perhaps, than 
most naturalists would do, has in one of 
his essays pronounced it “ certain that 
the peculiar notes of birds are acquired 
by imitation, as surely as a child learns 
English or French, not by instinct, but 
by hearing the language spoken by its 
parents-” No doubt some kinds of 
birds show wonderful facility in learn¬ 
ing the notes of strangers, and may, in 
youth, be so educated as never to sing 
any other song than that of the birds 
given them as instructors. It would be 
idle to deny that this fact has a very 
important bearing on the nature of in¬ 
stinct. How is it with the Cuckoo ? 
The case of the Cuckoo seems to show 
with equal plainness that the conclusion 
which Dr. Wallace would draw from 
cases of the opposite tendency is un¬ 
sound. The adult Cuckoo becomes 
physically incapable of repeating its song 
at a time when most of its eggs are still 
unhatched. Any little Cuckoo that was 
hatched in time to hear it would hear 
only those depressing, broken snatches 
of “ cook, cook, cook-coo-hoo,” which 
it would certainly be most undesirable 
for him to seek to imitate at, the outset 
of his career. But in any case the note 
would not come to him as the sound of 
his parent's voice, for the old and the 
[ young Cuckoos are perfect strangers to 
one another. On the principles of those 
who deny instinct, the song of the 
Cuckoo in after-life ought to be an 
imitation of that of the Meadow Pipit 
j who provided for him in youth. It is 
the note he hears most frequently when 
in the nest, though we must admit 
that the imperious and fast-growing 
youngster gives his foster-parents little 
time for singing once he has developed 
sufficient lung-power to keep up his own 
eternal cry for food. 
Redshanks Breeding in Captivity. 
It is quite recently that the breeding 
of the Avocet in the Zoological Gardens 
was chronicled. Another success in the 
matter of waders breeding has now to 
be recorded with regard to the Redshank 
(Tetanus calidris). This case is in some 
respects even more remarkable than the 
other, as showing how ready the birds 
are to take advantage of the fine nesting 
sites in the waders’ aviary. The stock 
of Redshanks consisted of two cocks 
and a hen. A few weeks ago the former 
were observed to be sparring, as if in 
rivalry for a mate, but neither of the 
keepers had any idea there was a nest. 
One morning the superintendent 
noticed three chicks by the edge of the 
pond, which were recognised as young 
Redshanks, and afterwards the hen bird 
was seen to foster them. This she did 
in the fashion of the Avocet—that is, by 
sitting down with the whole of the tarsus 
applied to the ground, the body slightly 
raised, and the young protected by the 
breast feathers. It is probable they had 
only just come out when they were seen. 
Careful search failed to reveal any trace 
of a nest. Nor were any fragments of 
egg-shells found or the missing egg, for 
four is the normal number of a clutch, 
though, of course, it is possible that 
only three were laid. The young birds 
began to feed at once, and soon after 
went into the water, dipping with their 
bills for tiny particles of animal matter. 
This is the first instance of the species 
breeding at the Gardens, and none ap¬ 
pears to be recorded in the recognised 
authorities on British birds. From the 
circumstances of the case no light is 
thrown on the incubation period, usually 
stated to be “ about sixteen days ”—one 
writer putting it so low as “ from four¬ 
teen to sixteen days.” This, however, 
is much too short, since eggs put into 
an incubator took twenty-two days to 
hatch. 
