120 
BIRD-LIFE. 
as it is not the working of blind impulse, but much 
more the art of bringing the results of past experiences to 
bear upon a question. 
Authentic observations have proved that the expe¬ 
riences made by birds are remembered by them many 
years afterwards. Our immortal Naumann relates the 
following example in bis splendid work upon the £ Birds 
of Germany:’—“For a long time I kept in my garden 
several wild Geese (Anser segetum); some of these, which 
I bad wounded and been able to take alive, became so 
thoroughly re-established as to be able to fly with ease, 
so that I was obliged to cut the pinion-feathers after the 
yearly moult, to prevent their disappearance. To perform 
this operation it was necessary that they should be 
caught, and to effect this I used to drive them into a 
corner, where I enclosed them with a long piece of net: 
in their efforts to escape they became entangled, and 
were thus easily captured. This periodical battle was 
not much relished by the birds : indeed, after having 
been subjected to this treatment for several successive 
seasons, they never forgot it; and on my appearance 
each year, with the net, got into a high state of alarm, 
and took refuge in the pond, thus effectually preventing 
my object. Their timidity became at last so great, that 
it was only necessary for me to take a string and, with 
the assistance of another person, pretend to encircle 
them, to cause the greatest terror in their ranks. 
Yet, nevertheless, they remained so tame, that I could 
call my favourite from among them and stroke it, 
thus sparing the bird the ordeal of the net for the 
future.” 
This anecdote goes to prove the excellent memory of the 
feathered tribe, which, indeed, even the uninitiated have 
