AN OCTOBER DIARY. 307 



occasionally by these birds. There is one fact with 

 reference to this mnssel-hunting by the crows which is, 

 I think, indicative of greater intelligence than the mere 

 fact of lifting an object and dropping it in order to break 

 it. This is, that all the mussels so dropped were left 

 undisturbed until the returning waters made further 

 fishing impracticable, when the birds hastened to feast 

 on the results of their intelligent labor. Marvellous as 

 it may seem, these crows recognized the nature of tides, 

 and, knowing their time was short, made as good use of 

 it as possible. 



The crow is, beyond all question, the most intelligent 

 of our birds, more so, indeed, than the average parrot. 



