BIRDS — GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. 321 



A pheasant used to come very boldly and run off with large 

 pieces of food, which he could only divide by shaking, and he 

 was closely watched by the rooks for the pieces that flew out of 

 his reach. He learned to run off into the shrubs, followed by 

 the rooks, who pulled his tail to make him drop his food. 



I shall next quote a highly interesting observation 

 ■which seems to have been well made, and which displays 

 remarkable intelligence on the part of the birds described. 

 These are Turnstones, which, as their name implies, turn 

 over stones, &c., in order to obtain as food the sundry 

 small creatures concealed beneath. In this case the ob- 

 server was Edward. Being concealed in a hollow, and 

 unnoticed by the birds, he saw a pair trying to turn over 

 the body of a stranded cod-fish, three and a half feet long, 

 and buried in the sand to a depth of several inches. He 

 thus describes what he saw : — 



Having got fairly settled down in my pebbly observatory, I 

 turned my undivided attention to the birds before me. They 

 were boldly pushing at the fish with their biUs, and then with 

 their breasts. Their endeavours, however, were in vain : the 

 object remained immovable. On this they both went round to 

 the opposite side, and began to scrape away the sand from 

 iDeneath the fish. After removing a considerable quantity, 

 they again came back to the spot which they had left, and went 

 once more to work with their bills and breasts, but with as 

 little apparent success as formerly. Nothing daunted, however, 

 they ran round a second time to the other side, and recommenced 

 their trenching operations with a seeming determination not to 

 he baffled in their object, which evidently was to undermine the 

 dead animal before them, in order that it might be the more 

 easily overturned. 



While they were thus employed, and after they had laboured 

 in this manner at both sides alternately for nearly half an hour, 

 they were joined by another of their own species, which came 

 flying with rapidity from the neighbouring rocks. Its timely 

 arrival was hailed with evident signs of joy, I was led to this 

 conclusion from the gestures which they exhibited, and from a 

 low but pleasant murmuring noise to which they gave utterance 

 so soon as the new-comer made his appearance. Of their 

 feelings he seemed to be perfectly aware, and he made his reply 

 to them in a similar strain. Their mutual congratulations 

 being over, they all three set to work; and after labouring 



Y 



