Animals that are immediately mobile atbirth  (precocial species) need to keep close to their  mother and have the protection of the  groupto  avoid predators.

Lorenz, in some of his experiments, got young  ducks and goslings to imprint on inanimate  objects such as wellington boots.

Stephen Lea (1984) proposed thatinstinct  gives the chicks the concept or template ofthe  mother but the environment has to supply the details.