THE HOODED CEOW 



{Corvus comix) 



In spite of the dark tales of plunder and his questionable 

 mode of getting a livelihood, the Hooded Crow is a favourite 

 bird of mine, and one whose regular habits never fail to 

 interest me. We in England only know the Hooded Crow as 

 a winter guest, but in many parts of Scotland he is a resident, 

 taking the place of his first cousin, the Carrion Crow, with 

 whom he sometimes intermarries. He frequents the wildest 

 districts, the extensive sheep farms on the hills, the rock- 

 bound coasts, and even the most isolated islands. You may 

 meet with him anywhere in the northern wilderness, provided 

 there is food to be found. Where it is not much persecuted 

 the Hooded Crow becomes remarkably tame ; and at St. Kilda 

 I used to watch these impudent birds sitting on the roofs of 

 the houses, ready to pounce down on anything eatable that 

 might by chance be thrown out. They were remarkably 

 tame, so long as I did not carry a gun, allowing me to 

 approach them within a few feet, lazily hopping out of my 

 path. They are very quarrelsome birds, and are incessantly 

 fighting with the Gulls and amongst themselves over the 

 scraps of food they come across. The natives detest the 

 Hooded Crow ; in fact throughout the Highlands no bird is 

 more hated than the Hoodie. There are no firearms in St. 

 Kilda, and the artful Hooded Crows seem well aware of the 

 fact, as they fly down upon the barley and potato patches 



