. Bombay ducks; an account of some of the every-day birds and beasts found in a naturalist's Eldorado . er of types of character, ranging fromexcessive timidity to great temerity. The seven sisters do not form an isolated case. Almost every companyof birds exhibits a similar phenomenon. We know solittle of Natures wild creatures that our books con-tain no accounts of these distinctions in are content to describe the typical memberof each species ; they omit to mention the thousandand one variations from it. This, doubtless, accounts for the origin of the ideathat all anim
. Bombay ducks; an account of some of the every-day birds and beasts found in a naturalist's Eldorado . er of types of character, ranging fromexcessive timidity to great temerity. The seven sisters do not form an isolated case. Almost every companyof birds exhibits a similar phenomenon. We know solittle of Natures wild creatures that our books con-tain no accounts of these distinctions in are content to describe the typical memberof each species ; they omit to mention the thousandand one variations from it. This, doubtless, accounts for the origin of the ideathat all animals of a species are cast in the same take an example, the Indian crow is described asa bold, bad bird, which leads a depraved life of aimlessvagabondage. This is doubtless a true description ofthe typical crow. But there are degrees of wickedness,even among crows. It is possible that some of thecorvi lead useful and admirable lives. For aught Iknow, there may be crow philanthropists, crows whichspend their life slumming, holding tea-parties, deliveringlectures, and doing other good GREEN SHANK (ONE OF THE KUCH Nlis OF THE INDIAN SHIKARl) STUDY IN ANIMAL CHARACTER 231 We catch but fleeting glimpses of wild animals;hence it is not easy to study their idiosyncrasies. For-tunately, there are the domestic animals. These come toour help. Every horse, cat, dog, cow, and fowl has itsown little character, which is displayed in its is to these creatures that we must turn if we shouldstudy character among animals. Two fox-terriers allow me to share the bungalowwith them, so that I have an excellent opportunity ofobserving their idiosyncrasies. They are what the Babuwould call he-dogs, and rejoice in the respective namesof Tony and Bob. So great is the diversity of charac-ter which they exhibit that, after watching them fora few weeks, one feels capable of writing a canineSandford and Merton. The lineage of neither of these dogs is unimpeach-able. There are bar
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