THE CARRION-CROW AND THE HOODED-CROW 23 



First their nest, which they built in the Garden, was destroyed. The 

 birds disappeared, but only to build a nest elsewhere and return after 

 a few days' absence. No alternative was left but to shoot them. They 

 had, however, already learnt to know a gun when they saw one. If 

 the Herr Direktor approached them with a stick or an umbrella, they 

 regarded him with tranquil indifference. But however perfect might 

 be the air of total abstraction from corvine affairs that he assumed, or 

 however absorbed he might appear to be in animated discourse with 

 the friends that accompanied him, the first sight of the gun-barrel 

 would send either of the attentive and suspicious birds in hot haste 

 out of range, uttering loud croaks of warning to its mate. The 

 Director then bethought him of an ambush. One morning, before 

 sunrise, he placed himself in the llama-house, near by the spot where 

 the crows were accustomed to alight. In due time one of the birds 

 arrived, but out of range. Its warning croak made clear that it 

 suspected treachery. What could have aroused its suspicions remains 

 a mystery. It was certainly not owing to anything unusual in the 

 behaviour of the llama, for this philosophic beast remained throughout 

 the affair entirely unaffected by the near presence of its official chief. 

 Seeing that the game was up, the Doctor issued from his hiding-place 

 to find, much to his astonishment, one of the crows not only perched 

 within gunshot, but showing no disposition to take flight. He 

 promptly raised his gun, but did no more, for the crow was so placed 

 as to be perfectly protected from shot by an intervening troop of 

 wild sheep. When this obstacle was cleared, the bird made off. 

 The gun was put away. Poisoned eggs were next tried. The 

 crows broke them open, left them untouched, and devoted them- 

 selves with all the greater zest to the unpoisoned eggs. Thinking 

 that their sense of smell had enabled the birds to detect the 

 poison, the Director then cut circular holes in scraps of meat 

 and fish, these being small enough for the crows to swallow 

 whole, inserted strychnine, and then plugged the holes with the 

 flesh extracted. The scraps were left lying about with unpoisoned 



