The Companion in the Bird's World

Abstract

Introductory Note WnE• Dr. Lorenz's paper on the 'Kumpan'• was published in 1935, it seemed to be such an original and importas•t contribution to our knowledge of the instincts and behavior of birds, that I was as•xious to have a summaw of its theses and conclusions appear in the pages of 'The Auk'.Knowing that Dr. Lorenz was conversant with English, I wrote to him, asking if he would consent to prepare such an account of his own work, and he replied that he would be pleased to do so if given sufficient time.Dr. Lorenz's paper was delayed in reaching me from various causes.He found difficulty in summarizing a work which consisted in so large a measure of observational detail, and accordingly has stressed those subjects of the most theoretical importance; and he added: "I shall not refrain from using some new observations, and the results of experiments which have come to my knowledge since the publication of my paper."My function has been mainly editorial; and although it has seemed best to condense some parts of the author's manuscript, I trust that its value has not been impaired.The doctrine of 'releasers,' herein set forth,--or devices for the production of stimuli, which serve as the 'keys' to 'unlock' or release those 'innate perceptory patterns,' characteristic of the species and the individual, and which result in instinctive reactions,--seems at last to offer a sound and satisfying explanation of that riddle so long embodied in 'the secondary sexual characters of birds,' and one which I believe that Darwin, when struggling with his 'Theory of Sexual Selection,' would have welcomed with open arms.--FRA•c•sH. HERa•CK.THE CONCEPTION OF THE "RELEASER"IF WE observe a man performing a number of separate actions, each of which has for its object the same thing and which, taken together and considered as a functional unit, serve an end of definite survival value to the man himself, we shall not hesitate to infer two things: first, that the man, in performing these actions, is conscious of their goal and that it is this very goal that constitutes the purpose of all his movements; second, that in performing the several actions of the sequence, he is constantly aware of the identity of the object toward which they are directed.On seeing a similar series of actions executed by some animal, we are prone to come to the same conclusions, but both would be totally erroneous in case we should have to do with a series of purely instinctive acts.Much serious harm has been done by confounding the biological end, or survival value of {nstlnct{ve action, with the purpose pursued by the animal as a subject.I cannot go into the details of my argument against this wldely spread error, but for the purposes of this paper, suffice it to say that • 'Der Kumpan in der Urnwelt des Vogels (Der Artgenosse als aus16sendes Moment sozialer Verhaltungsweisen)' [The Companion in the Bird's World; the fellow-member of the species as a releasing factor of social behavior.]Journ.f.Ornith., vol.83, pt.2-3, 1935.