BRITISH BIRDS. 59 



times on a ruined building, a church tower, or some similar 

 position, including precipitous cliffs and precipices. The 

 eggs are four or five in number, say some authorities, but, 

 according to others, only two or three, and, considering the 

 voracious appetites of the 3'oung ones, and the ditiiculty of 

 finding them an adequate supply of suitable food, the latter 

 is more frequently the number than the former. The 

 ground colour is bluish green, which is spotted with a 

 darker shade of the same and with brown. The young 

 are covered at first with grej'ish down. The old birds 

 breed freely in confinement. 



Carriox Crow. — This bird is a miniature raven, and is 

 often confounded with the rook, fi'om which it differs 

 mainly in point of size, being a little larger than the latter, 

 but is much less than the raven, which measures 26 inches 

 in length, and the carrion crow only 20 or 21. From the 

 rook it is distinguished by having feathers close up to the 

 base of the bill, and by flying about in pairs, or, at most, in 

 little parties of four or six, probabl}'' the old birds and the 

 young of the year, also by building singly, each pair in a 

 separate locality, and never in company. 



The nest is large, made of sticks, and is placed among 

 the topmost boughs of a tree, where it forms a very 

 conspicuous object until the leaves come out. The eggs 

 are three or four in number', rarely more. They are pale 

 bluish green, spotted and speckled with brown and grey, 

 but they vary a good deal both as to the ground colour and 

 the markings on them. There are two broods in the 

 season, the first in March, and the second in May or June. 

 As soon as the young can feed themselves the old ones 

 drive them away. 



Both the raven and the carrion crow feed on small 

 animals, such as moles, rats, etc., and birds. Tiiey also eat 

 any dead animal of larger size they may find lying about. 



