86 BOMBAY DUCKS 
not placed some of her children. Directly the iron 
horse pulls up, a crowd of kites may be seen soaring 
overhead, waiting for some scraps of food which a pas- 
senger will assuredly cast away. Needless to say, the 
crows are also on the war path, and, as they hang about, 
most impudent beggars, close to the carriage wheels, 
they get the pick of the food which is thrown out. 
These bold birds, however, are not dependent on the 
charity of man; they help themselves, being obviously 
disciples of Dr. Smiles, whose book, “Self-Help,” is so 
popular in India. A goods train loaded with sacks of 
grain pulls up at a station, and is at once invaded by 
crows, who proceed to bore with their powerful beaks 
holes in the sacks, through which they abstract the 
corn. ; 
The enumeration of the fauna of the railway station 
would be incomplete without mention of the ubiquitous 
sparrow (Passer domesticus). Then there is the half- 
starved pariah dog, who is a regular institution at every 
wayside station, attending all trains. Experience seems 
to have taught him that charity is most rife among 
Europeans, for he usually takes up a position on the 
platform in front of a carriage occupied by them ; but 
even their charity appears to be very uncertain, for his 
attitude is suppliant, he wags his tail in a half-hearted 
manner, he gives it the undecided motion that denotes 
hoping against hope. His ribs are very conspicuous 
objects, and the wistful look in his eyes makes one feel 
almost sorry that one’s baggage does not include an 
assortment of juicy bones. 
