120 RIVERBY 



ways and means. They are gregarious and social, 

 and probably in the fall have something like a re- 

 union of the tribe. At least their vast assemblages 

 upon the hills at this season have a decidedly festive 

 appearance. 



The crow has fine manners. He always has the 

 walk and air of a lord of the soil. One morning I 

 put out some fresh meat upon the snow near my 

 study window. Presently a crow came and carried 

 it off, and alighted with it upon the ground in the 

 vineyard. While he was eating of 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, regarded 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 illustration 

 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 wood- 

 peckers, behave quite differently toward each other 

 in the presence of their food. 



The lives of the wild creatures revolve about two 

 facts or emotions, appetite and fear. Their keenness 



