"[27]
Mr. Charles Dixon has recorded a remarkable change in the mode of
nest-building of some common chaffinches which were taken to New Zealand
and turned out there. He says: "The cup of the nest is small, loosely
put together, apparently lined with feathers, and the walls of the
structure are prolonged for about 18 inches, and hang loosely down the
side of the supporting branch. The whole structure bears some
resemblance to the nests of the hangnests (Icteridae), with the
exception that the cavity is at the top. Clearly these New Zealand
chaffinches were at a loss for a design when fabricating their nest.
They had no standard to work by, no nests of their own kind to copy, no
older birds to give them any instruction, and the result is the abnormal
structure I have just described."[28]
These few examples are sufficient to show that both the habits and
instincts of animals are subject to variation; and had we a sufficient
number of detailed observations we should probably find that these
variations were as numerous, as diverse in character, as large in
amount, and as independent of each other as those which we have seen to
characterise their bodily structure.
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