According to Wikipedia, Heckle and Jeckle were "two identical magpies, who outwitted their foes, while maintaining a mischievous streak". This was what we dubbed the two pied crows who frequented our garden.
We would feed our two dogs, Laddie and Tinker, raw meat. Every day, same time, same place, in the backyard. Every day, Heckle and Jeckle would sit up in the trees watching and waiting for their chance. As soon as the humans went back inside the house, they would start cawing, and fly down to within a safe distance, landing on the ground, and taunting the dogs to come and get them. Incensed by this swaggering act, the dogs would leave their bowls and run at the birds, barking. Jeckle would fly back up into the branches of the tree, while Heckle would fly just above the dog's mouth range, around the corner of the house, with both dogs in hot pursuit. He would sit in the branches of a tree in the front yard, well within sight of the dogs, where he would continue his mocking and jeering. The dogs would go crazy barking at him.
Then suddenly, one of the dogs would stop and think, "Hang on. There were two of them. Where's the other one?" And with that, they would both beat it back to their bowls - but too late! Jeckle had calmly helped himself to a sizable chunk which he now had on the roof of the store room, where Heckle would come join him and they would enjoy their breakfast, smirking at the dogs who were now gulping down the remainder of their meat, looking slightly foolish.
And the next day, the same scene would be played out. Those two dogs never learned! A labrador and a dachsund, outwitted by a pair of birds. Shameful!
