BIKDS AND MEN 159 



or two away in the direction where he had been before, 

 " pottering about " ; then, coming back rather hurriedly, 

 pulled my ringer with his beak. He then went over the 

 shingle again for about a yard, and began picking at 

 something partly hidden in the stones. Leaning over to 

 see what the bird was doing, I discovered, to my utter 

 astonishment, that he was pecking at a little ivory box, 

 which belonged to me, and that was generally kept in my 

 pocket, holding lozenges, but which I had lost some three 

 or four days before ! I had not the least idea where I 

 had lost the box, and had been making inquiries in Tor- 

 quay respecting it, thinking I must have left it inadver- 

 tently in some shop or reading-room. Little did I 

 imagine that my lost bonbonniere would be restored to 

 me through the medium of my friend Joey the gull. 

 Now, could this have been merely a curious coincidence, 

 or was it not rather a wonderful instance of memory and 

 intelligence? The only time that I can recall in which 

 Joey must have previously seen my ivory box was about 

 five weeks previously, when one day on the rocks at 

 Oddicombe Joey came and sat down by me, looking as 

 usual for cake. Not having anything of that sort with 

 me, I took out my box and opened it close to Joey and 

 gave him a small piece of chocolate that happened to be 

 in it, which he took in his beak, but refused to eat. That 

 is the only occasion that I can think of in which Joey 

 and my box ever came close together. That gulls have 

 wonderful eyesight is well known, and I understand also 

 that they have great powers of scent ; but what the reason- 

 ing powers were that led this bird to draw my attention 

 to my lost ivory box is somewhat of a mystery. 



V. F. KOWE, Lieut.-Colonel. 



June 20, 1914. 



NOTE. It is noteworthy, I think, that these stories 

 of the intelligence of birds do not make their actions 

 caricatures of man's. The minor poet, for instance, 



