Marvels of Instinct

Waikato Times, Volume 106, Issue 17804, 31 August 1929, Page 13 (Supplement)

Marvels of Instinct

Self-Protective Guises

A LITTLE grey bird dropped at the feet of the men who were resting in the woods. Apparently it was ill. with both wings injured. With nn exclamation of pity one of the men reached to pick it up, hut the bird escaped, onlv to drop a few feet away. Again Hie man reached out !o help it, and again he v.-nv bird, a hedge-sparrow, escaped. Jhe mvstifving performance continued until, suddenly, we are told by Friedrich von Lucanus. writing on “ Animal Actors m Deutsche AUgemcine Zeitung (Lcrlm), the liird shot up into Die air and (low away without any sign of being hurt. The clever hedge sparrow, Herr Lucanus explains, had built iis nest in a nearby tree, where it, was bringing up its young, and as he humans unwillingly came close to it the mother bird performed its little comedy to lend them away. When it succeeded it dropped its masquerade and flew away. But the hedge sparrow is not the only creature who acts this way when it believes its young arc in danger, wc learn, on reading : The Way of the Bittern. Other birds have similar tricks which thev use for self-preservation. The bittern, when endangered, stretches its neck, Bead, and body into a straight line so that it. looks like a twig or reed, and thus escapes the attention of the attacker. The bark-coloured goatsucker, fabled to suck animal milk because it toilers near animals in order to catch insects, does not rest on I wigs like ordinary birds, crosswise, but lengthwise. In this manner it appears to lie a part of the branch, and thus escapes particular notice. When in clanger, the hoopoe throws itself flat upon the ground, spreading out its tail and wings, Doth handed with black and white. It then lias the appearance of some coloured hit of cloth rather than a living Bird The stone owl, or sawwhcl when frightened, incessantly moves its head up and down. Living in holes of trees, as it ( loes a robber at night is frightened to see two’flaming hails of lire, the eyes of the owl hoi) up and down, and is frightened awa'v. Birds of Ihe woodpecker family act quite like Hie hoopoe. They not only throw themselves fiat on the ground, hut move their long necks in snake-like rhythm. By doing this, the bird actually resembles a "snake, and so deceives its pursuer.

Clever Frogs and Fish.

Among Ihe amphibia and crawling animals, we also find clever actors. In the tropics there are frogs capable of distending their stomachs into great halls which frightens frog-eating animals away. Like this particular species of frog, there is a fish known as the swellflsh,. or common puffer, which lives near the coast or in rivers of warm zones. In case of danger, puffers blow themselves into enormous balls, rise on the surface, and float on their backs. An enemy may snap in vain at the prev The sea-urchin possesses similar propensities, but it is particularly guarded by being covered with spines or quills. Like the porcupine, the sea urchin can entirely surround and protect itself by means of the erect quills. Manv animals arc specially equipped in order to disguise themselves. In Australia, ttie wonderland of animals, where egg-laying mammals are slid to he found, there is a lizard called the collar lizard. It lias a broad collar made" of skin which is brightly coloured in a mosaic pattern of orange, red, blue and brown. When at rest,° the collar is close to the body, but in time of danger the lizard rears up its collar like an umbrella, at the same time standing up on its hind legs. This presents a fearsome sight to its opponent, which usually runs away. Employing the same tricks as this type of lizard is a bird whose habitat is South America, the so-called fan parrot. At the back of its head it has a fan-shaped arrangement made of long red

of Birds and Insects.

feathers tipped with opal blue. When it is excited or angry, these feathers stand straight, giving the bird a frightful appear-^ ancc. , , ‘ The orange-speckled toad also makes, use of its colour for protective purposes, we learn as wc read on:—ln lime of danger if bends its neck and head backwards, at the same time crossing its front feet on its back. By doing this, the bright expanse; of orange colour, as well as the colour of j its feel, is exposed to view. The sudden, change from a drab 'brown to this bright, hue completely disguises Hie animal. J The Cuttlefish. Equally interesting is the ink or cuttle-] fish. When pursued it ejects an inky fluid, brownish black in colour, which completely, surrounds the fish like a fog and hides it: from sight. The secretion of the cuttle-, fish plays an important role in painting,* making the pigment known as sepia. The name cuttle-fish is poorly chosen, for this , unusual animal is not a fish at all. It he- j longs to the mollusc family. It has a de- ; pressed sac-like body, an enormous head, | and eight to ten sucker-hearing arms. The i arms arc used for walking and in seizing prey. There is another species of cuttlefish which lives in the ocean. In lire dark waters the dark brown secretion would lose its significance. There the fish are equipped with a “ lighting ” organ which serves for purposes of recognition as well as communication. In this case the protective apparatus is adjusted to its environment. Instead of the dark, inky fluid it ejects, a greenish, phosphorescent liquid which spreads out into little bubbles. The opponent follows these light bubbles thinking that here, as in Ihe ease of oilier deepsea fish, they emanate from the animal itself. In the meantime, the cultle-fish has withdrawn to safely.

The star actors in the animal world arc insects. Many of them, particularly certain hugs, have the habit of dropping from leaves and trees in moments of danger. Landing on Hie ground, they remain absolutely motionless. Falling into the grass, or among dead leaves, they arc practically safe. In Africa there is a peculiar grasshopper known as the “ devil’s flower." It is really a wolf in sheep’s clolhing. This green insect has two long feelers which expand at the end like petals, and are coloured lavender and white. With its feelers extended, it patiently sits on plants and leaves, waiting for flies and butterflies. Alas for the poor insect that expects to sip nectar: from this flower, for it is immediately caught up and devoured. Another insect of a similar type is found in the region of the Orange River. It has white wings edged with pink, giving it very much the appearance of a morning glory. Waiting fpr its prey, with wings extended, it gently rocks its body to and fro whenever an insect approaches, exactly like a flower fanned in the wind. 1

Purely Instinctive.

Without a doubt, all of these actions are purely instinctive. This can best be proved by examples of animals deprived of their parents at a very early age, and reared in perfect isolation. They will, nevertheless, demonstrate all of the instinctivo actions which they need for their own benefit. I reared a young tree hawk, which I had acquired when it was but a few days old. If is a known fact that the hawk always strikes its prey while in flight. My bird "acted exactly the same way without the least bit of instruction. The hawk had only been fed on hits of meat out of my hand. When first let loose, it struck down a gold-hammer which had escaped from its cage. Seeing the bird in flight immediately set the instinct of the hawk into play. The typical manner of securing its food was born in the bird, and it needed no example to teach it to act accordingly. I could give similar examples of other birds. Even tho technique of nest-building is instinctive,