The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-13
THE TRAINING OF BIRDS.
THE YOUNG sONGSTERs EDUCATED
by THEIR PARENTS.

Young.
Olive Thorne Miller. in the Chicago Rec
ord.
The old notion that our feathered neigh
bors are governed by instinct alone that
a Young bird just out Of the nest is en-
lowed with the wisdom Of his fathers and
nas nothing to learn, has been complete
Is overturned by closer observation Of their
lives. 1t is now well known that young
birds are educated or trained
by their parents. The process is
-aort, of course. as development
- every way is speedy. BUT it is I'M
n.stakably marked.
one way this is known is by the fact that
birds taken from the nest and reared
by people. away from their kin. differ
greatly from their brothers trained by
the parents. For one thing, they have no
fear OF the human race. Among many
other cases reported, a close observer in
South America. Mr.. Hudson, tells of bring
ing up a family Of rheas, or South Amer
ican ostriches. which he took. from the
nest. Although the birds under home
training are the most shy of their kind,
HIS AltAAH OAANA L4GNtA SlOWNu the ltert
fear of human beings. and when he i'm
itated the danger-cry of the family-which
they learn in the nest-they ran to him
for protection, trying to hide in his cloth
ing.
A lady l know in England has reared
many birds from the nest and it is her ia
variable experience that they never fear
people. When they are grown and thor
Oughly Wonted to life in a house she gives
them their freedom. and they live and
nest outside in her grounds. returning TO
the house for food, as a refuge from cold
or storms. and often, as it appears, merely
70 see their friends.
A still more convincing proof that
young birds are trained is that we have
seen it done. All through this month of
july the patient watcher may see feath-
cred little folk being taught to find their
own food, to follow their parents to fly
in a flock, to come together at night, and
TO sing. Doubtless many other things en-
ter into their training that have not been
discovered.
The most careless observer must have
noticed youngsters accompanying one or
both parents about, seeing where and how
food was procured. If he had looked a
little more closely and watched patiently,
he might have seen the parent after feed
ing for some time, suddenly and silently
disappear, leaving the younsling alone on
the feeding ground. He might see, too. as
have seen, the elder catch some insect
delectable, no doubt and plainly much
desired by the little one. and while the
baby was begging for it in his pretty
coaXing way, calmly eat it himself-a
lesson, was it not? that whose wishes to
eat must first learn to catch.
A phoebe l once saw teaching her Off
spring TO catch flies, or rather, teaching
him that he must learn to depend upon
himself The two were on a leafless sap
ling, so that l could see them distinctly
I was attracted by curious continuous
talk in phoebe tones (Which of itself was
noteworthy in that reserved family, an
swered at every pause by querulous,
complaining note from the young bird.
Never was a conversation more plainly
carried on than between those two. Now
and then the parent would fly out and
catch something, as much as to say, See
how easy it is and them to complete the
object lesson, eat it herself. The youth
still begged and complained, but when, at
length, mamma flew away, he fell to
catching flies for himself.
In a similar way a baby water ouzel at
the west cried and cOaXed most winning
ly, but when the food provider, after adj
minstering a morsel or two, took his
flight just over the rushing ana foaming
waters of the brook, the deserted beggar
plunged into the stream and foraged for
himself
A red headed wood seeker l was once
watching brought his quaint brown baby
to fence beside the raspberry bushes,
gathered and fed to him berry or two,
apparently to show how it was DONE and
then left him there alone for an hour or
more, where he must pick for himself or
go hungry. His awkward attempts to
reach the fruit, his evident fears that he
would fall his final success and his de-
light in it were most interesting to see.
Teaching the younglngs to fly in
flock, at a signal, | saw distinctly done
Ii. .f,.gIr rr1,s,a
nursery life l once studied. 1t was after
the youth had left the nest and could fly
well, though they were still being fed.
Many times during the day the old birds
would begin flying about in a circle above
the tops Of the trees, uttering a strange
and peculiar cry unlike any other had
heard from them in a close watch of sew
eral weeks. Instantly the young, as
though struck by panic, would rise on
wing and join in the cfrcling Hight. AS
long the cry was kept up they flew
around as fastta they could, and when
it ceased they dropped to trees wherever
they happened to be. Then in a moment
they began calling to each other in their
sweet baby voices for they were affec-
tomato little fellows and could not bear
to be separated As they called each hop
ped and flew toward the others, and in
minute or two all three would be sitting
side by side on twig, happy and con-
tented again.
The instruction of young crows in the
same thing is amusing to see The big
babies are so clumsy in movement that
they hardly know how to mount ON wing
in the first place, and when they at
tempt to ahght they clutch at the perch
with their feet but their heavy bodies
not being easily arrested go on, and some
times young one actually turns somer-
saUlt before he can bring himself to
rest. On one occasion while from behind
blind 1 was studying with great enter
tainment crow nursery tactics, one baby
neglected to respond to the call l think
he was the youngest At any rate he was
the most clumsy in getting about. But
dsobedience is not tolerated in the crow
family, and discipline is salutary, if Sc
we're. On the return of the party
from their wing exercise over the pas
ture one of the elders, without alightinS,
took a bee line for the recreant infant
sitting on a low bowlder and calmly
knocked him clean off his perch The
next time / observed that he did not
linger, but took his constitutional with
the rest