The silhouettes of two trees are adorned with the silhouettes of three birds. The rightmost bird is the merlin. The two birds on the left are crows. The crows decided to make a detour during their flight when they saw the merlin.
A merlin preened on a branch of a skeletal tree, contorting its body into all sorts of interesting positions as it tidied and fluffed its feathers with its beak and talons. Far away, in the distant overcast sky, the chatter of two crows sounded. Two black spots flew into view. And they saw the merlin.
The first crow flew closely past the merlin, and landed in a neighboring tree. The second crow decided to land in the tree that the merlin occupied. It hopped to a closer branch. And then a closer one. Finally, it hopped directly toward the merlin. Tolerance had waned. The merlin took off after the crow, chasing it away and biting its tail feathers which elicited a gargling call of annoyance. The merlin returned to its perch. But the crow circled back.
The chase was on again. In flight, the size difference between the birds was clearer. The smaller merlin flew past the crow at one point, allowing the crow to pursue it for a while. But the merlin flew higher and higher until the crow was just about directly underneath it. Then the merlin dove downward. Such stealth caught the crow off guard and allowed the merlin another snap of the beak at the crow’s tail. This chase continued off and on with the sounds of wings in flight cutting through the cold air.
All the while, the crows seemed more bored and curious than malevolent. They appeared to want to be chased. The merlin had been uninterested in the crows until its branch was concerned, at which point patience dissolved.
When both crows crept closer yet again, the annoyed merlin had had enough and gave a final chase, escorting the crows away once and for all. Calm resumed. The merlin returned to the exact spot on the exact branch on which it had perched before crows’ arrival. Perhaps it was the principle of the matter. Regardless, the branch belonged to the merlin, who finally enjoyed some peace and quiet.