Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-08-14

scacey daring to alght even for mo-
ment upon his favorite perch the cup
board door. I offered the hawks some raw
beef and they ran at me and fairly snatch
ed the food from my fingers, swallowing
1t with several quick jerks Of the head.
If a piece of meat was thrown upon the
floor, the ha wk nearest to II would rush
upon 1t with Its talons and run away into
a corner with 1t and devour 1t with his
face to the wall. Here were several DIFF
forcnccs between the hawk and the crow.
No matter how hungry Satan might be,
he never suatchcd the food from my hand;
he always waited, often iinpatienily, for
me to put II into his mouth. Moreover, he
always swallowed 1t where he stood, In
stead of running away with 1t. The crow
would eat almost anything, the hawks
would touch nothing but animal food.
one morning put a large garter snake In
to the room and instantly one of the young
hawks pounced upon 1T, selling II In his
talons and striking at 1t with his Dill,
meanwhile raising his wings In the air and
screaming fcrcely. The snake struggled
and snapped at his legs. but this seemed
only to excite him the more, a - he would
certainly have killed the reptile had not
liberated it before much damage was done.
A live frog was regarded by the hawks as
an object of curiosity while 1t remained
still, but the moment 1t jumped one OF
the fierce birds was upon it like Il fury,
striking it savagcly with ono foot and
quickly tearing it to pieces with his bill.
But it was evident that the frogs bit
ter skin was distasteful to the hawk for
each time after pccking at his victim he
shook his head as If in digust.
For several days the crow lived in con-
slant fear of the hawks. and would scarce
ly venture down to get his own food. BY
and by. however, he found out that the
screams of his companions. deafening as
they were. did him no harm. and thence
1n Z ttx,, . tt,.,
meantime he had learned to peck a little
on his own account. and although he still
preferred to have his food put into his open
mouth. he would. If left alone, eat some
of 1t alone. lie soon acquired habits of
thrift, and when there was more food than
could be eaten on the spot, he picked 1T
up, hid 1t away in corners, under sheets
OF paper and In other convenient places,
which he visited when he felt hungry
again. Sometimes he carried off one piece
at time, but lie usually filled his mouth
and throat. AMI made off with a load
which he hid piece by piece. His feeling
of indifference for the hawks soon chang
cd to open disrespcct, and if the birds Of
prey failed to pick up their meat promptly
when II was thrown to them, Satan would
take 1t from under their very noses and
carry it off for future use. AS the hawks
| never learned the habit OF hiding their
food, they often went hungry when the
crow was well fed and happy. 1t did not
take the willy black bird very long to still
further show his contempt for his compan-
ions, and even after they had TIA ken food
in their bills the crow would walk up and
snatch it away before they could swallow
it, Sometimes. to be sure, a hawk would
struggle for possession of the meat, and
the two would walk back and forth across
the ROOM Juggling and pulling for several
moments, but in every contest of this kind
which | witnessed the crow was the vic
tor although it was in the power of the
hawk at any time to strike his tormentor
dead with one blow of his talons
on one occasion l gave a dead sparrow
to one of the hawks. and it was interest
ing to see the ingenuity he displayed 10
keep the prey in his possession. He seiz-
ed the sparrow in one foot, and hobbling
quickly across the room. set his face tc
the wall. That shut of attack on one side
| and by spreading out his tail behind and
/ his wings, one on either side. he formed
sort of tent in which he had his dinner
| safe. The antics of the crow were anus.
ing to see First he would walk to one side
OF the larger bird and then around to the
other, locking for an opening. Not find.
! ing one he tried to force his way under the
wings of the hawk. but II was no use, and
after repeated failures he gave it up
I The hawk in the meantime was busy with
the sparrow which he held in his claws
First he pulled of the head and swallow
ed that whole. After that he tore off a few
4 other pieces. and then with mighty jerk
ing or his head he swallowed the body
wings, tail and all. and as he moved away
/ there was not the sign of feather to be
/ seen on the floor where he had stood
ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES