67 



parting insults at the crows and flies right away, 

 laughingly answering his wife's cry, and chuckling 

 over the way in which the crows have been duped. 



These meanwhile have returned to the nest. 

 Although they are so clever and cunning they cannot 

 count above two. Crows know only of three quan- 

 tities — nothing, one, and more than one. Hence if 

 there be already three eggs in the nest they will not 

 detect the addition of a fourth. It is not known for 

 certain whether the koel destroys any eggs which are 

 already in the nest. The fact that crow's nests have 

 been found containing but one egg and that laid 

 by a koel, seems to indicate that the koel does destroy 

 the eggs already in the nest, for it is improbable that 

 she deposits her egg in an empty nest. 



The surprising thing is that the yonng koel does 

 not have its neck wrung directly it emerges from 

 the e^^. But all young birds born in nests are much 

 alike. They are without exception as ugly as sin. 



Nevertheless when the feathers grow the foster- 

 parents should have no difficulty in discovering the 

 nature of the strange nestling. Some authorities 

 think that the crows do make the discovery, but have 



