BIRDS THAT KEEP ORDER 127 



preciate doing police duty, for in Brehm's 

 book on bird-life there is a very interesting 

 account of one which had been reared from a 

 chick and allowed to go loose on a nobleman's 

 estate and the village belonging to it, in 

 Germany, and occupied most of his time in 

 looking after the other creatures' affairs. He 

 was particularly great on keeping order among 

 the poultry, and was more severe with geese 

 and turkeys than he was with the fowls and 

 ducks ; and with good reason, for the turkeys 

 sometimes joined forces against him and de- 

 feated him by numbers. However, he was 

 fair even to them, for once he was seen to 

 interfere between a turkey and a cock which 

 were fighting, and to have a tough fight with 

 the big bird before it gave in ; but he did not 

 forget that the cock was also an offender 

 against the rules he had laid down, for when he 

 had finished with the turkey he looked out for 

 him and punished him too ! This remarkable 

 bird did not content himself with being police- 

 man and magistrate all in one among the 

 feathered world, but he looked after the affairs 

 of the horses and cattle as well, and stopped 

 any quarrels or disturbances which arose 



