i82 Northern Observations of Inland Birds 



inside its stomach. Another I found fishing for crayfish 

 in central Yorkshire. Mr. Tom Speedy, the well-known 

 Scottish naturalist, states that he one day saw a pair of 

 ravens, accompanied by their family, successfully fishing 

 for trout which had become land-locked in a small pool. 

 Each trout, as caught, was carried into the field, where it 

 was torn to pieces and served out piecemeal to the young. 

 In Canada I have known the ravens to visit the home- 

 steads in winter and steal food from the chickens, while 

 of their scavenging and hunting propensities a good deal 

 has already been written. The same, of course, applies 

 to crows. A keeper and I one day observed a raven 

 feeding on the carcass of a dead horse. As we drew 

 near he '' vanished into the interior," and remained there 

 till we had passed. Next day he resorted to the same 

 trick, but trying to stalk him I at once learnt that though 

 he himself took good care to remain unseen, he did not 

 share the delusions of the ostrich. 



Of the three, the raven, the hooded crow, and the 

 carrion crow, I would set down the last named as the least 

 sociable. It is seldom that more than two carrion crows 

 are seen flying together. As a rule the two are a field 

 or so apart, flying low, and closely watching the ground 

 beneath them. Except during the early spring of the 

 year, hooded crows are generally given to hunting singly. 

 They do not scour the country to the same extent as does 

 the carrion variety, but are more addicted to haunting a 

 frequented range — particularly to scavenging for food 

 along loch margins. Early in March, 1921, I watched a 

 pair of them, in all the early enthusiasm of their court- 

 ship, strutting together about the shores of the small 

 loch by the main road on the east side of Crianlarich, 

 and so taking a picture did they present that it was difficult 

 to believe that these were the least desirable of our 

 Scottish wild birds. Their hoods were of the palest grey, 



