The Cunning Wood-Pigeons　狡黠的木鸽

One who loves our feathered friends has described a curious instance of their instinct.On the back lawn at a gentleman's house,they have a feeding-box for the pheasants,which opens on their perching upon it,but remains shut if any lesser bird than a hen pheasant perches there,which saves the contents from the thefts of these,and of rats,mice,and other vermin.But the gentleman discovered that the contents of the box was being more rapidly emptied than the wants of the pheasants warranted.So he kept a watch on the box,and soon discovered a wood-pigeon perch on the box,but his weight not being sufficient to open the lid,he beckoned to another pigeon,and their combined weight made the lid fly open,and after each had taken what they required,they flew away,and the box closed with a“click.”

我们的羽类朋友也有急中生智的时候。有个爱鸟人士就讲了这样一个奇妙的故事。一位先生在自家房后的草坪上放了一个给雉鸡喂食的盒子，雉鸡落在盒上可以靠身体重量压开盒盖，但比它轻的鸟落上去则无法打开食盒。因此，其他鸟，还有大小老鼠和别的坏家伙就无法偷吃盒子里的食物了。但是，这位先生发现盒子里的食物越来越供不应求了。于是，他开始在暗中观察。没过多久，就看见一只木鸽落到了食盒上。不过，它的身体太轻，无法打开盒盖，于是，它唤来另外一只木鸽，齐心协力压开了盒盖。各取所需之后，两只木鸽飞走了，而盒盖则“咔嗒”一声又合上了。