140 BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS 



ground in the vineyard. While he was eating it, 

 another crow came, and, alighting a few yards 

 away, slowly walked up to within a few feet of 

 this fellow and stopped. I expected to see a 

 struggle over the food, as would have been the 

 case with domestic fowls or animals. Nothing of 

 the kind. The feeding crow stopped eating, re- 

 garded the other for a moment, made a gesture 

 or two, and flew away. Then the second crow 

 went up to the food, and proceeded to take his 

 share. Presently the first crow came back, when 

 each seized a portion of the food and flew away 

 with it. Their mutual respect and good-will 

 seemed perfect. Whether it really was so in our 

 human sense, or whether it was simply an illus- 

 tration of the instinct of mutual support which 

 seems to prevail among gregarious birds, I know 

 not. Birds that are solitary in their habits, like 

 hawks or woodpeckers, behave quite differently 

 toward each other in the presence of their food. 

 The crow will quickly discover anything that 

 looks like a trap or snare set to catch him, but it 

 takes him a long time to see through the simplest 

 contrivance. As I have above stated, I sometimes 

 place meat on the snow in front of my study 

 window to attract him. On one occasion, after a 

 couple of crows had come to expect something 

 there daily, I suspended a piece of meat by a 



