526 CORVUS CORONE. 



saw, as her partner for life ; but alas ! it was of very short 

 duration, for in the course of a few moments I numbered her 

 with the dead. Beino- anxious to ascertain whether or not the 

 stepfather would continue to provide for his adopted offspring, 

 I went back in about three days, when, to my surprise, I found 

 that the spiipathizing old fellow had not deserted his charge, 

 but continued to feed them with the same unabated care as 

 formerly. After the death of his beloved, he was a great deal 

 more shy, for he remained scarcely a moment when he came 

 to give the young food. On that account I found it very diffi- 

 cult to get a shot at him, but at length I succeeded. 



" The strong attachment which the feathered kind have to 

 their offspring is truly astonishing. Although the Carrion 

 Crow is one of the most cunning of birds, yet I have deceived 

 him with the young of the Rook. I once shot a female with 

 all her brood, just as she was putting a part of a bird into the 

 mouth of one of them. Being anxious to get the male, I took 

 a young one out of the nest, and sent it with a boy to the 

 rookery at Balbardie, to pick out four exactly of the same size. 

 In this he succeeded. Having put them into the nest, I went 

 back again in the course of two days, and shot him in the very 

 act of feeding the young rooks v> itli grubs. 



" Carrion Crows are among the most voracious of birds. 

 There was scarcely a pheasant's, a partridge"'s, or even the 

 smallest bird's nest, that escaped their penetrating search. 

 Nay, so very intent was the male on plunder that he used to 

 come very early every morning into a young plantation within 

 forty yards of my house, and examine most minutely every 

 nest in Avhich the hens were accustomed to lay. Even this 

 did not satisfy his rapacious ap})€tite ; for should a duckling or 

 a chicken happen to wander a little distance from its mother, 

 he was sure to carry it off. In addition to these, he killed a 

 considerable number of young hares. I have even seen him 

 chase them and pounce upon them like a hawk, when they 

 were more than half grown. 



" Some naturalists assert that when Crows carry oiF eggs, 

 they break the shell, and thrust their bills into them. Whether 

 this be their general practice or not I cannot affirm ; but I can 



