176 BIRDS OF THE PLAINS 



sinks in the heavens the crows arrive in straggling 

 flocks. Suddenly the eagle dashes into the midst of 

 them and, before the crows have realised what has 

 happened, one of them is being carried away in the 

 eagle's talons. Then the corvi fill the welkin with their 

 cries of distress. It is very naughty of the eagle to 

 prey upon crows in this way, because by so doing it 

 mocks the theory of protective colouration. No one 

 can maintain that our friend Corvus splendens is pro- 

 tectively coloured, that is to say, so coloured as to be 

 inconspicuous. No one but a blind man can fail to see 

 a crow as he steadily flaps his way through the air. No 

 one can deny that the bird flourishes, in spite of the fact 

 that eagles eat him, and that his plumage is as con- 

 spicuous as the blazer of the Lady Margaret Boat Club 

 at Cambridge. If, as the theory teaches, it is of para- 

 mount importance to a bird to be inconspicuous, why 

 was not the whole clan of corvi swept off the face of the 

 earth long ago ? 



We have, in conclusion, to consider an eagle of the 

 baser sort. The Indian tawny eagle (Aquila vindhiana\ 

 which is the commonest eagle in India, will serve as an 

 example. This bird eats anything in the way of flesh 

 that it can obtain. If the opportunity offers, it will 

 pounce upon a squirrel, a small bird, a lizard, or a frog ; 

 but it is a comparatively sluggish creature, and so robs 

 other raptores in preference to catching its own quarry. 

 Most birds of prey are robbers. This the falconer 

 knows, and profits by his knowledge. He first captures 

 some small bird of prey, such as a white-eyed buzzard. 

 Having tied up two or three of its wing feathers so that 



