58 



THE BIRDS OF IONA AND MULL. 



Crow hatches most faithfully ; only they must be removed 

 immediately from the nest, before the foster-mother has time to 



|stroy| her spurious brood. I have so far 

 witnessed this experiment, 



that four small Hen's 

 eggs, which I placed in a nest, were 

 most faithfully covered by the Crow for ten days, when unfor- 

 tunately they were taken away by a mischievous boy. A much 

 more cruel trick is that of boiling the eggs hard to prevent their 



