like that of blackbirds, is a scene very 

 amusing, as well as mysterious. It has 

 been my privilege to witness a few such 

 gatherings, but to me there seemed more 

 noise than meaning. It is said by natu- 

 ralists, however, that the most extraor- 

 dinary meetings of the Crows occur in 

 northern Scotland. There they collect 

 in great numbers, as if they had all been 

 summoned for the occasion ; a few of 

 the flock sit with drooping heads, and 

 others seem grave as judges, while oth- 

 ers again are exceedingly active and 

 noisy. One authority says : "These 

 meetings will sometimes continue for a 

 day or so before the object, whatever it 

 may be, is completed. Crows continue 

 to arrive from all quarters during the 

 session. As soon as all have arrived a 

 very general noise ensues, and shortly 

 after the whole fall upon one or two in- 

 dividuals and put them to death. When 

 the execution has been performed they 

 quietly disperse." 



The Chough is a red-legged Crow and 

 is one of the most mischievous birds of 

 his genus. He carefully examines every- 

 thing he finds, then carries it away if he 

 can. And if there be a collection of any- 

 thing to which he has access, he is sure 

 to scatter it in all directions. Those 

 which have been converted into pets have 

 proven very affectionate, but they are 

 easily offended and will often vent their 

 spite in a most annoying yet very amus- 

 ing manner. 



The Raven is very much like the Crow- 

 in his habits, but is more given to fight- 

 ing and to burglary than his shy cousin. 

 He is a great tease, also, and will often 

 attack children and even grown up peo- 

 ple just for fun. By this it can be seen 

 that the Raven is more susceptible to 

 taming than the Crow, while no old Crow 

 can steal so many articles or hide them 

 as completely as the Raven. Thev are 

 quick to make friends with dog or man, 

 but, like the Chough, are very trouble- 

 si nne foes when once offended. 



The Rook is a European bird, and 

 though the farmer recognizes in him a 

 destroyer o£ his young crops, he must 

 admit that without the Rook he would 

 save little or none of his crop. Worms 

 constitute the favorite food of this bird, 

 wherefore manv a husbandman has 



learned that it is best to endure the dis- 

 advantages of a rookery merely for the 

 sake of his harvests. For one queer 

 habit of Rooks is that they will frequent 

 the same spot all their lives, and it is 

 next to impossible to dislodge them from 

 their abode. 



The Jackdaw's are the boldest of the 

 genus, and have a very remarkable 

 "don't care" look. They frequent high 

 towers, hollow trees, and even appropri- 

 ate to their own use the loftiest parts of 

 the English castles. They choose their 

 mates for life, and do not live in com- 

 munities. They assemble in flocks, how- 

 ever, when cherries begin to ripen and 

 will soon rob a tree if the owner is not 

 on guard. 



An amusing story is told of a tame 

 Jackdaw. While pilfering one day he 

 found a half-glass of whisky which had 

 been left upon a table, and on tasting it, 

 he liked it so much that he drank a quan- 

 tity. In a few moments symptoms of in- 

 toxication began to appear ; his wings 

 dropped and his eyes were half-closed. 

 He staggered towards the edge of the 

 table, probably intending to fly to the 

 floor, but he had either lost the power of 

 his wings or he was afraid to trust them. 

 He stood, seemingly meditating what 

 he should do, all the while reeling like 

 a drunken man about to lose his bal- 

 ance. Presently his eyes were shut and 

 he fell over on his back with his legs in 

 the air, exhibiting every sign of death. 



An attempt was made to put some 

 water down his throat, but he could not 

 swallow it. He was then rolled in a 

 piece of flannel, laid in a box and locked 

 away in a closet. All the family, with 

 whom he was a great pet, never expected 

 to see him on his legs again. Next 

 morning about six o'clock the door was 

 opened, with the expectation of finding 

 Jackie dead, but he had freed himself 

 from the flannel and as soon as the door 

 was open he flew out and hurried away 

 to a basin-shaped stone, out of which the 

 fowls drank, and copiously allayed his 

 thirst. He repeated this several times 

 that day and was none the worse for his 

 exploit, but, with more forbearance than 

 those who are endowed with reason, he 

 never again would touch whisky. 



Claudia May Ferrin. 



43 



