50 BIRDS IN LONDON 



his bird, says that at different times he has kept 

 ravens, daws, jays, and magpies, but has never 

 had so delightful a bird friend as the crow. 

 It was a revelation to him to find what an in- 

 teresting pet this species made. No other 

 bird he had owned approached him in clever- 

 ness and in multiplicity of tricks and devices : 

 he could give the cleverest jackdaw points and 

 win easily. If his bird was an average specimen 

 of the race, he wondered that the crow is not 

 more popular as a pet. This bird was fond of his 

 liberty, but would always come to his master 

 when called, and roosted every night in an out- 

 house. Like the tame raven, and also like 

 human beings of a primitive order of mind, 

 he was excessively fond of practical jokes, and 

 whenever he found the dog or cat asleep he 

 would steal quietly up and administer a severe 

 prod on the tail with his powerful beak. He 

 would also fly into the kitchen when he saw the 

 window open, to steal the spoons ; but his chief 

 delight was in a box of matches, which he would 

 carry off to pick to pieces and scatter the 

 matches all over the place. He was extremely 

 jealous of a tame raven and a jackdaw that 

 shared the house and garden with him, and 



