King Vikramaditya was perturbed. There was a sudden spurt of thefts in the kingdom and nobody had been able to catch the thief or thieves so far. It was quite unheard of! Every effort had failed and no one had any idea as to who the culprits might be. "Thieves in Ujjaini! It's quite disgraceful," said King Vikramaditya, addressing the royal guards. "What's wrong with all of you? Can't you catch them?"
"Sire, we've tried our best," said the guard in charge, "we just can't lay our hands on them. They seem to get away every time."
"Obviously they're cleverer," said the king shaking his head. "Looks as though I'll have to attend to this myself." The guards hung down their heads. "Very well, you may go. I'll see what I can do." That night King Vikramaditya disguised himself as a common man and stood waiting patiently at one of the important crossroads. Hours passed by and nothing unusual happened. Then, soon after it struck midnight, four men came from four different directions and seemed to utter something like a password. As they stood talking earnestly amongst themselves, one of them suddenly caught sight of the king. "Who are you?" they asked suspiciously. "What is your trade?" "I'm Prajapal," said the king, giving them a broad smile. "My profession? I guess it's the same as yours. In fact, I'd been waiting for you."
"Really? Then tell us where we are going." "I can't be quite sure, but I expect you're bound for merchant Dhanapati's house. His ship has just returned after a profitable trip abroad."
"Right you are!" said their leader. "You're obviously one of us. Join our group then–the more the merrier!" "I'd be glad to," said the king, "but I've a suggestion."
"What's it?" asked the thieves curiously.
"Let's go to the royal palace, instead," said the king. "After all,how much money can a mere merchant possess, no matter how well he trades? The king is bound to have much more." The thieves looked at one another. Then the leader said, "No doubt, you're right. But going to the palace would be far too risky. What if we are caught? The royal guards are far too many in number. Dhanapati's house would be safer." "That's exactly why I'm here for," said the king, "you won't get caught at the palace if I am there. Now, you had better tell me what each of you specializes in and how we're going to divide the booty."
"In five equal parts, of course," said the leader at once.
"And your special talent?" "I can smell the air and identify what is inside a locked room," said the first thief. "I can open any lock, no matter how tough," said the second. "I never forget a voice," said the third. "And I can understand the language of birds and animals," said the leader of the gang. "Very good," said the king. "We should have no problem then."
They are the only birds known to pluck and eat their own feathers. 
