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HOW DO BIRDS THINK AND REASON Sense of Rocks and Swank of Turkeys Plinys Talc of Eagles Suicide Nature is full of mystery She sets conundrums which man with all his learning is unable to answer satisfactorily satisfactorilyCrows Crows when at rest on the treetops or when foraging in the fields Invariably have sentinels out to give warning of danger AVhy has nature gifteif these birds in this distinctive way How do the crows arrange the duties of the sentinelsV sentinelsVAVhen AVhen nAikshootihg begins the firsh shot will send the whole colony of birds into the air in a panic but as soon as they reach a height which is beyond the range of the guns the cloud of birds will pause and remain at the same altitude although shot may be spluttering In the treetops for an hour IIoW do they know when they are at a safe altitude altitudeThe The most conceited citizen of the bird kingdom is the common turkey cock He is powerful arrogant aggressive ever seeking a quarrel but usually the first combatant to run away when a battle really takes place Why has nature endowed him with such a strange medley of qualities qualitiesWhy Why is it that the common male barndoor fowl has been singled out by nature to be a perpetual demonstrator of the art of politeness to the weaker sex As soon as the cockerel grows a comb and a voice which can crow he begins to pay marked attention to the opposite sex He tends them hunts for them and declines to eat until they have satisfied their wants For ages mankind has been killing off cockerels but the chivalry of the barn ¬ door fowl remains untarnished untarnishedPigeons Pigeons have been used and studied for ages but who can explain by what mysterious sense the homer sets his courseV A young bird has been sent away 100 miles and liberated in strange surroundings jnd within a few hours has been found safely perched in his own dovecot How did In find his way home homeSwifts Swifts will nest year after year under the caves of the same building In the spring they cross the ocean and take up their old abode in Kngland Close observers have noticed that they return each year within a few days of the date of their first arrival How do they time a journey of a thousand miles or more with such uncanny accuracy V VLet Let us hark away to the sandy wastes of tropical countries A wornout horse falls dead liy the wav and the caravan passes on Within a few hours spicks may be seen on the skyline They grow larger and draw nearer They are the vulture4 natures scavengers which devour the dead body bodyWho Who can say what sense it is which enables them to track down a corpse lying on the ground sohres of miles away from their haunts hauntsWho Who too can say why the cuckoo hen deposits her eggs in the nest of small birds and never by any chance hatches them herself herselfWhy Why has it been arranged that powerful birds which live by killing are lacking in courage as compared with the tiny torntit who will tackle a bird three times his own size and beat him Hints of tin rapacious kinds are rarely known lo engage in combat with their equals in size and strength They prey upon the weaker tribes tribesQuestions Questions of this kind could be multiplied by the score and the mysteries which lie behind tliim have troubled mankind for ages causing strange superstitions and evolving queer stories storiesKagJes KagJes an suposed to be cold cruel and without emotion at all times Pliny however tells a story which whatever its merits proves that he did not share the common belief about eagles He states that an eagle was brought up by a girl in the city of Sestos It became much attached to her and would hunt ijame and carry it to her The giti died and when her funeral pyre was burning the eagle flew into the midst of the flames and was consumed to ashes with the corpse of its mistress
