ANIMALS IN SICKNESS 1 65 



remove some part of the load. Instances of aid 

 rendered by birds to others in distress may also be 

 found, showing that the instinct of sympathy exists, 

 and takes form in action, when the causes of the 

 suffering are such that the fellow-bird can under- 

 stand, and see its way to remedy. The writer was 

 informed that some years age, at a hawking party on 

 Salisbury Plain, a falcon was flown at a carrion-crow, 

 which it struck after a long flight, and the two birds 

 came down like a parachute to the ground. The 

 party galloped up, and were about to dismount to 

 take up the falcon, when the mate of the crow 

 suddenly descended from a great height, with such 

 velocity that the wings made a whizzing sound like 

 that of a falling stone, and dashed on to the falcon. 

 The force of the blow struck the hawk from its 

 quarry, which was uninjured by the grapple in the 

 air ; and both crows flew off unhurt into a copse 

 near. In this case the crow clearly understood the 

 cause of the danger, and the possibility of a rescue 

 when the falcon was on the ground and least able to 

 act on the offensive. But the courage and devotion 

 which prompted it to overcome the natural dread 

 which the falcon inspires, and the added terror of a 

 party of mounted men in pursuit, place the crow's 

 claim to admiration on a very high level. A pair 

 of terns have been seen to aid a wounded companion 



