130 TALKS ABOUT BIRDS 



Before I could save it, a kite swooped down 

 from above and carried it off to a ledge on a 

 building close by, where it began to pluck the 

 poor little bird, alive and screaming. I felt 

 bad enough, thinking I had been partly to 

 blame, but the crows seemed quite furious ; 

 they cawed fiercely round the kite, and even 

 sprang on it and pecked it, but could not save 

 its victim. Perhaps they would have treated 

 the dabchick in the same way themselves, 

 but they did not behave as if they wanted the 

 prey, but rather as if they were angry with 

 the kite. They often rob kites of their food, 

 but then they go about it in a quiet and well- 

 planned way, two birds acting together ; one 

 gets in front of the kite and caws in its face, 

 while another waits behind to pull its tail. 

 Then, of course, the kite turns round in a fury, 

 and the crow in front snatches the food it has 

 been trying to save from them and flies off 

 with it. 



At any rate, whatever the reason for the 

 behaviour of the crows was on this occasion, 

 there is no doubt that both crows and kites 

 in India are themselves kept in check and 

 tyrannized over by a bird much smaller than 



