Page:The Common Birds of Bombay.djvu/139

Rh Though Crows are not gregarious, like Rooks, I am certain there is such a thing as Crow society, with its accepted rules of propriety and etiquette. When two Crows quarrel, the neighbours always arbitrate, and I have seen them helping the weaker party by pulling off the other. They hold assemblies, which certainly have a definite common purpose. We cannot guess what that purpose is, but how should we? Could any intelligent Crow guess the purpose of a meeting of our Municipal Corporation? Sometimes also they combine clamorously to punish some member of the community. I believe this is for an offence against propriety. Crows are great sticklers for propriety.