Cries of the Day and Night 



eral different intonations to express different ideas, 

 but which all sound alike to foreign ears, and 

 which are spelled alike when they appear in 

 foreign print. To judge by the crows' action, it is 

 certain that their elementary haw has at least 

 three distinct accents to express as many different 

 meanings: one of "all's well," another of "watch 

 out," and a third of "be off!" Moreover, the 

 birds seem to understand these different meanings 

 as clearly as we understand plain English; they 

 feed quietly while haw means one thing, or spring 

 aloft when it means another; and though you 

 watch them a lifetime you will see nothing to 

 indicate that there is any doubt or confusion in 

 their minds as to the sentinel's message. 



Not only the crows, but the wild ducks as well, 

 and the deer and the fox and many other creat- 

 ures, seem to understand crow-talk perfectly, or at 

 least a part of it which concerns their own welfare. 

 Thus, on the seacoast in winter you hear the crows 

 hawing continually as they follow the tide-line in 

 search of food. For hours this talk goes on, 

 loudly or sleepily, and the wild ducks pay abso- 

 lutely no attention to it ; though they must know 

 well that hungry crows will kill a wounded or 

 careless duck and eat him to the bones whenever 

 they have a chance. Because of this dangerous 

 propensity you would naturally expect the water- 



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