The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1904-12-17
ANIMALS AT PLAY.

ulat both beasts and birds share the
pleasure which frolic of kind gives
e the cold-blooded fishes of our
llvers, says the London Spectator.
But the degree in which their sport
hkes the form of game varies. Some
ANNALS will play with objects, lust
as child amuses itself with a cup
and ball or with a spinning top.
Qthers play in company and use the
elenent of competition and mock
contests. But perhaps the common
est games of all are those in which
they use their unique powers of
SPEED, flight, climbing or diving into
2 hind of display, in which they often
conbine the sense of successful ply
seal achievement with some added
safsfaction, evidently clear to their
Sensciousness of doing this in COM
Ihe IaIrer POINTS 10 a TdTrTer
highly organized degree of conscious
ness; put in view of the combined
performances and displays of certain
animals. especially birds, it is difficult
to thinkthat this can be absent. On
one of the fine and still afternoons
of the p,st winter, in the complete
aerial relose which follows a day
or two Of cyclonic storms, when the
London SKY is washed blue" after
the downpour of rain which COM
monty follows these disturbances, at
height Q; some 800 feet above the
Greek park the London gulls were
engaged in form of combined aerial
play, floating in long series of wide
circles, of vefy nearly the same diam
eter, though the number of birds in
each varied. Though, when seen
from below, this long, ribbon-like fes-
toon of floating birds seemed to be
on plane, they were really flying in
spirals, rising and descending by set
ting their wings at different angles.
AS fresh birds from the region of
the river saw this choregic game 60
ing on they flew up in detachments
and fell into place, adding to the
number of circles, until the distance
from the first to the last equaled
nearly the whole length of the park.
Then they drifted slowly westward,
maintaining the same order and con-
certed movement.
There is no doubt that many spe-
cies of birds, especially those which
frequent the surface and shores of
water, are fond of this decorous play.
Homer hints at it in his description
of the happy birds on the Meander.
Virgil notes the pleasure of the swans
in their combined flight-Aspice his
senos laetantes agnnine cygnos. And
following Homer's cranes to the con-
tinent of Africa, where they engaged
IN winter warfare with the pygmies
7. G. Millais has noted that every
evening on the banks of the Nuan-
etzl river the cranes assembled and
-sf.knt the last honzs Of ddYljgl1t i,
aerial play, "HOatlng spirals over
the African stream. The floating
game is enjoyed by several species
of English birds other than gulls,
but not in such a combined form.
Certain states of the air, when the
winds are hushed and the sunbeams
are bright, invite them to the sport.
Rocks will ascend at such times to
great attitudes, soaring in spirals and
descending only to rise again. But
it is the play of individuals in COM
pany, not a concerted movement.
Wood pigeons do the same, and oc-.
casionally the ravens by the cliffs.
The latter birds have form of aerial
, play peculiar to themselves and "turl-
bier" pigeons. In the middle of
high flight they suddenly cease to
move their wings and fall headlong
through the air, croaking loudly, as
if to call attention to the joke. The
water tournaments of ducks. both
wild and tame, and of domestic geese
are regular part of their activities.
The call to play seems to come to
them from the sky, just as in the
case of the birds which combine for
aerial games. When the sun is at
its brightest and hottest, they are
suddenly seized with an impulse to
begin the sport. Beating the water
with their wings, they rush hither
and thither on the surface, and then
dive one after another, keeping the
fun going until they are all out of
breath. It is very seldom that geese
are seen to dive, but when playing
this game they do SO as instantan-
eously as does a dabchick or water
hen, though the complete immersion
and descent of so overgrown a bird
as fat domestic goose must entail
considerable effort.
These combined displays are not
common among mammals. The case
of the "waltzing mice" naturally sug-
gests itself. These little creatures
run in circles incessantly, and when
number of them are together they
appear to be acting by a common
understanding. 1t is said, however,
that these mice are suffering from an
hereditary form of brain disease,
which makes it impossible for them
to run otherwise than in circles. But
the roe-deer in the woods near Caw-
der Castle have regular rings, in
which they amuse themselves by run
ming in circles. By far the most
playful of the young of the various
animals are kids. They seem to have
imagination, as well as extraordinary
activity, and being able to climb OF
leap on to almost any place which
takes their fancy, their success in n
games such as follow my leader"
or the well-known one of holding
the FORT" which is also played by
lambs and puppies, is great.
Their exploits in this way some
times cause serious anxiety to their
mothers, who may be heard bleatine
in an agitated manner when they see