A DUCK-POND VENDETTA 273 



of the same group often display marked animosity 

 when they meet ; for instance, Sheldrakes have a 

 general aversion to Geese, and usually bully them, 

 in spite of their own smaller size. The jealousy of 

 male birds is well known, and of course leads to 

 numerous fights ; but male birds will also fight over 

 nesting-sites, as I have seen in India with the 

 House-Mynah, the hens looking on as seconds. 



The mobbing of Hawks and Owls is no doubt 

 often dictated by revenge; and birds may be ob- 

 served sometimes to harbour a grudge. M. Rogeron 

 describes a Brazilian Teal (Nettium brasiliense) 

 which had provoked a rather hot-tempered Mallard 

 Duck and been nearly drowned by her in conse- 

 quence, as never failing afterwards, whenever he 

 could do so safely, to smack her across the face 

 with his wing. Dr. A. G. Tutler gives a case 

 in which a Whydah-bird, whose long tail-plumes 

 had been plucked out one by one by a pair of 

 nesting Song- Spar rows, bided its time and killed 

 one of the little thieves ; and in the Calcutta Zoo a 

 pair of African Triangular-spotted Pigeons (Columba 

 guinea), which had been much annoyed by 'the 

 futile attacks of a male Cockatiel (Calopsittacus 

 novce-hollandite) which was breeding in the same 

 enclosure, revenged themselves on him by pecking 

 his young, when they left the nest, most severely. 

 This was an unusual procedure on the part of 

 Pigeons, which are not usually aggressive to birds 

 not of their own family. 



As much may be said of most birds whose intelli- 



