40 BOMBAY DUCKS 



law-abiding folk, there are not wanting among them 

 vagabonds, egg-stealers, nest-breakers, and other 

 criminals. 



Among birds, as among human beings, the wicked 

 flourish like the green bay tree. Crows, kites, and birds 

 of prey live lives of iniquity, yet they have possessed 

 themselves of the land. They are so numerous that the 

 king-crow is flown off his wings in endeavouring to keep 

 them in something like order. He receives no fixed 

 salary for his police duties. 



But, were you to ask the drongo if philanthropic 

 motives prompted him to do this work, he would put 

 his tongue in his cheek and split his sides with laugh- 

 ing. He is an Eastern. He lives up to all the best 

 traditions of the Oriental police by levying black- 

 mail at every opportunity. Moreover, he looks with 

 lenient eye on offences committed against the person 

 or property of others, becoming zealous in his duties 

 only when he has to investigate crimes of which he is 

 the victim. 



The king-crow is of opinion that charity begins — and 

 ends — at home. Hence it comes to pass that the police 

 activity of the drongo is greatest during the nesting 

 season. At no other time has the bird any property to 

 look after. Nests are constructed from April to July, 

 and during these months a couple of king-crows chasing 

 a crow or a kite is a sight so common as to attract but 

 little attention. 



Nearly every bird, no matter how small or weak, will 

 attack the animal which threatens its nest ; in this re- 

 spect there is nothing remarkable about the king-crow. 



