Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-08-27

birds for festive purposes. The mere
preference of gay colors may be uncon-
scious and purely instructive, but when q
bird looks out for bleached land-shells and
tall grasses to ornament its reception room
and fetches round stones to: fix" the
grasses in their proper place, and then
uses the hall thus provided only for festive
social purposes, you can hardly deny such
birds either the powers or the tastes OF
landscape gardeners and ball givers. And
we fancy this kind of deliberate taste for
the beautiful, and the beautiful in subor-
dination to social purposes, is confined
among the lower animals tc birds; and, as
regards the social purposes, to very few
orders of birds. A great many birds seem
to have more appreciation Of beauty of
color than almost any other class of|
animals, but only in few species has it
risen to the point of a really decorative
social art We may gather from this
that in the bird the perception of harmony
is of very high kind, and this evidently
applies to sound as we'll as color. No
creatures utter sounds so full of beauty, or
display su:h wonderful qualifications for
initiating the beautiful sounds they hear.
Must we not, say, then, that the bird has,
in more force than any other species OF the
lower animals, the perception of harmony
in forms. colors, and sounds, and the
further consciousness of the fascination
such harmony has for its own species, and
the enhancement it lends to social
enjoyments?
Another great mental quality which
birds seem to have in excess of other
animals is very fine calculation Of
distance, and this, too, in direct subordn-
alton to their own we'll being. 1t has
been shown again and again-and Mr..
| Leith Adams refers to some facts in
support of it in this essay-that, as new
weapons of offense are invented, many
species of birds narrowly observe the
range of the new bow, or guns, and keep
out of range, not even troubling
themselves to 90 at all farther than is
necessary to be out of range. Quite
recently we have read, though We cannot
verify the reference at present, of some
birds which adapted themselves within a
few days to the increased range of the
rife, directly after they had learned its
range for the first time, having been
previously accustomed only to the fowling
piece, and kept just out outside the two
thousand yards range, or whatever range
it was, retaining their composure perfectly
at that distance. We suppose the
wonderful accuracy of the travelling birds
in striking the exact point for which they
are bound, of which Mr.. Leith Adams
gives US wonderful illustrations, is a still
greater proof of the same power. NJ
Adams tells us of swifts which, after eight
months absence in the South-at a
distance of some 1900 or 1900 miles
return not merely to the same region, but
to the same nests which they had deserted
and that, too, year after year-tht
individuals having been marked so tha
there could be no mistake as to theil
identity, unless indeed there be suct
creatures as claimants to abandoned nests
even in the ornitholog;cal world. Again,
the delicate adaptation of the power O.
geonetrical measurement to the welfare o.
its species seems to be shown by the
weaver bird Of India, which hangs it
g elaborately constructed, purse shaped
nest Z" from the tops of branches over
hanging deep wells in order to render i
particularly difficult for enemies to get al
the nest without running great risk Of
falling into the well.
Again none of the lower animals, ex
cept the monkey, seem to have so muct
initiative power, particularly in relation
to sounds-the initiative power OF monkeys
has more of capacity in it for Initiating
gesturesas parrots, mocking birds, ravens
and other tribes of birds. Curiousl
enough, this seems to be more or less
quality of tame. as distinguished from
wild, birds. At least, Mr.. Leith Adam
says that parrots, the cleverest of all thes
imitators when in captivity, " are not b.
any means given to copy the call-notes Q
other birds in their native woods" SO tina
imitation would seem to be the channel in
to which their intellectual energy is apt t
be directed, when they are robbed of thei
, natural occupations. That is. we suppose
their perceptions being very acute, an,
their voice well developed, directly the,
are cut off from their usual occupation
they begin to initiate all they hear b.
: way of exercising their latent faculties
That birds can 60 beyond mere imitation
l and are to some extent accomplished actor
the evidence as to all those birds which
by false pretenses of agitation, lure tn
trapper away from the vicinity of thei
nest, completely shows. Mr.. Leith Adam
, bears witness to this, and tells besides tn
story of the trick played by the ruby throat
ed humming- bird OF Canada, which, if car
tured, " feigns death by shutting its eye
and remaining quite motionless," and the
u suddenly makes vigorous effort to escap,
This shows not merely dramatic gift. bu
a distinct purpose in the use Of it. Ruse
:, of similar kind are, however, not vi
) exampled in other animals and bird
Cats. for instance, constantly feign sleel
for the purpose of catching birds or mic
L more effectually.
On the whole, however, it may be safe
ly said that birds seem to have much NOR
: capacity for perceiving beauty, much MOI
= gift for social enjoyment, a finer knowledg
u of distance and direction, and much moi
power of vocal imitation, than any othe
e order of animals of which we know am
thing. On the other hand. they have les
sense of power and sympathy than the dol
s and therefore much less sense of respons
bllity to their superiors, whom they ofte
love, but seldom serve. Perhaps We Nigh
. generalize these mental qualifications b
J saying that birds are chiefly educated b
perceptions, wonderfully accurate indee'
4 but still of things at distance, of thins
:, at an almost telescope range; that the
rapidity of fight makes them creatures
: soide experience, but not of full experiene
of any species but their own: and that, ,
e a result. thev cannot kuow men we'll enouo