Note 2 — Chapter xvii · THE RETURN TO THE NEST

When taken from his brood and carried to enormous distances, the Pigeon returns promptly to the dovecote. If we wanted to work out a proportion between the length of the journey and the size of the creature, how greatly superior to the Pigeon would be the Cerceris, who finds her burrow after being carried a distance of two miles! The bulk of the insect is not a cubic centimetre,2 whereas that of the Pigeon must be quite a cubic decimetre,3 if not more. The bird, being a thousand times larger than the Wasp, ought therefore, in order to rival her, to find the dovecote at a distance of two thousand miles, which is thrice the greatest length of France from north to south. I do not know that a Carrier-pigeon has ever performed such a feat. But power of flight and, still less, lucidity of instinct are qualities that cannot be measured by the yard. Comparative size cannot here be taken into consideration; and we must just look upon the insect as a worthy rival of the bird, without deciding which of the two has the advantage.