"He Seemed Gifted with the Instincts of a Born Criminal"

ANIMAL SLEUTHS, especially cats, have been popular for years (TV Tropes). Here, possibly ahead of its time, is a story about a detective of the avian persuasion.

"Jim Crow—Detective."
By Stanley Edwards Johnson (?-?).
First appearance: The Black Cat, October 1898.
Short short story (6 pages).
Online at SFFAudio (HERE) (PDF).

"It's just for form's sake. I can't serve a process of law on a bird."

Our narrator learns just how true that old saying is about it taking a thief to catch a thief, even if in this case one of those thieves isn't human . . .

Resources:
- Apart from having authored seven short stories in ten years (FictionMags), Stanley Edwards Johnson must remain an enigma.
- Our "detective" in the story is most likely a paid up member in good standing of the species Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos (Wikipedia).

The bottom line: "The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it."
— The Bible