72 TALKS ABOUT BIRDS 



big hawk, is a very cowardly one, and the 

 crows do pretty much what they like with 

 him. For instance, if a kite was busy in 

 getting hold of a big heavy stick for its nest, 

 or went down to the pond to have a drink, it 

 would often occur to some crow that now was 

 the time to pull his tail, and of course he went 

 and did it. 



Tail-pulling is a great idea of the Indian 

 crow's, and I used to see some very funny 

 scenes at the evening playtime between the 

 crows and a little striped squirrel which had a 

 nest under the eaves of my quarters. The 

 crows would get on the edge of the roof and 

 caw insultingly at the squirrel's front door ; 

 out would rush the brave little beast, and 

 they had to jump up in a hurry to save their 

 toes. Then, when she had driven them off, 

 she would bolt for home, while the crows 

 did their best to grab at her tail, and, 

 judging from the scantiness of the hair at 

 the tip of it, they succeeded pretty often in 

 getting hold. 



I was pretty sure, also, that these crows had 

 their fun with people ; during the hot days 

 it was a common thing for a crow to come and 



