Abstract
I HAVE read with interest the abstract of Mr. C. W. Purnell's paper which you published in last week's NATURE (p. 383). I think he is in error in supposing that young birds do not afford us examples of truly instinctive activities. The way in which a young moorhen swims with accurate coordination, before the down is well dry after hatching, and before it can walk steadily, is very instinctive. I would suggest to Mr. Purnell that there is a wide field for observation open to him among his native birds. If he will hatch some of them out in the incubator, and carefully note what they can do prior to experience, and how their activities are modified by experience, he will help to solve some of the difficult problems of habit and instinct.
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MORGAN, C. Definitions of Instinct. Nature 52, 389 (1895). https://doi.org/10.1038/052389c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/052389c0
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