The Murderous Crow. 127 



out his breast in pride of beauty, jerking his tail up 

 and down, as if to say, Admire me. With a sidelong 

 hop and two flaps of the wing, he half springs, half 

 glides to another coign of vantage. The small birds, 

 sparrows, chaffinches, greenfinches — instantly scatter 

 swiftly right and left, not rising, but with a hasty run 

 for a yard or so. They know well his murderous intent, 

 and yet are so busy they only put themselves just out 

 of reach, aware that, unlike the hawk, he cannot strike 

 at a distance. This game will continue for a long 

 time ; the jay all the while affecting an utter indiffer- 

 ence, yet ever on the alert till he spies his chance. It 

 is the young or weakly partridges and pheasants that 

 fall to the jay and magpie. 



The keeper also destroys owls — on suspicion. 

 Now and then some one argues with the keeper, 

 assuring him that they do not touch game, but this 

 he regards as pure sentimentalism. ' Look at his 

 beak,' is his steady reply. ' Tell me that that there 

 bill weren't made to tear a bird's breast to bits ? 

 Just see here— all crooked and pointed : why, an owl 

 have got a hooked bill like an eagle. It stands to 

 reason as he must be in mischief.' So the poor owls 

 are shot and trapped, and nailed to the side of the 

 shed. 



But upon the crow the full vials of the keeper's 



