BIRDS— GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. 
317 
The Central Prison at Agra is the roosting-place of great 
numbers of the common blue pigeon ; they fly out to the neigh- 
bouring country for food every morning, and return in the 
evening, when they drink at a tank just outside the prison walls. 
In this tank are a large number of fresh-water turtles, which lie 
in wait for the pigeons just under the surface of the water and 
at the edge of it. Any bird alighting to drink near one of 
these turtles has a good chance of having its head bitten off and 
eaten ; and the headless bodies of pigeons have been picked up 
near the water, showing the fate which has sometimes befallen 
the birds. The pigeons, however, are aware of the danger, and 
have hit on the following plan to escape it. A pigeon comes in 
from its long flight, and, as it nears the tank, instead of Hying 
down at once to the water’s edge, will cross the tank at about 
twenty feet above its surface, and then fly back to the side from 
which it came, apparently selecting for alighting a safe spot 
which it had remarked as it flew over the bank ; but even when 
such a spot has been selected the bird will not alight at the 
edge of the water, but on the bank about a yard from the water, 
and will then run down quickly to the water, take two or three 
hurried gulps of it, and then fly off' to repeat the sane process 
at another part of the tank till its thirst is satisfied. I had 
often watched the birds doing this, and could not account for 
their strange mode of drinking till told by my friend the super- 
intendent of the prison, of the turtles which lay in ambush foi 
the pigeons. 
As a still more remarkable instance of the display of 
intelligence by a bird of this species, I shall quote the 
following observation of Commander E. H. Napier* also 
published in 6 Nature ’ (viii., p. 324) : — 
A number of them (pouters) were feeding on a few oats 
that had been accidentally let fall while fixing the nose-bag on 
a horse standing at bait. Having finished all the grain at hand, 
a large 4 pouter 5 rose, and flapping its wings furiously, flew 
directly at the horse’s eyes, causing the animal to toss his head, 
and in doing so, of course shake out more corn. I saw this 
several times repeated — in fact, whenever the supply on hand 
had been exhausted. . . . Was not this something more than 
instinct ] 
The following display of int exigence on the part of 
swallows is communicated to me by Mr, Charles Wilson* 
