V 



CROWS 95 



Ravens' nests in trees are also well known. Every 

 naturalist will remember the celebrated " Raven- 

 tree " at Selborne, described by Gilbert White, and 

 " The Raven's Clump " in Petworth Park, of which 

 the late Mr. A. E. Knox has left so pleasing an 

 account in his " Ornithological Rambles in Sussex." 

 In the same county there were formerly Ravens' 

 trees in Burton Park, near Petworth, and in Uppark 

 until 1866 (Gordon's "History of Harting in West 

 Sussex," pp. 257-259). Mr. Miller Christy mentions 

 others in his " Birds of Essex," and there was at 

 least one in Middlesex. 



CARRION CROW. Corvus corone, Linnseus. PI. 15, 

 fig. 2. Length, 19 in.; bill, 2'25 in.; wing, 13 in.; 

 tarsus, 2-50 in. 



Resident, but, owing to the increased preserva- 

 tion of game, rare in the eastern counties of Eng- 

 land, as well as in some parts of Scotland and 

 in Ireland. In 1533 (temp. Henry VIII.) crows 

 were so numerous, and thought to be so prejudicial 

 to the farmers, that an Act of Parliament was passed 

 for their destruction, in which Rooks and Choughs 

 were included (Zool., 1894, p. 47). The inhabitants 

 of every parish were bound for ten years to provide 

 crow-nets, of which I have given a description, Zool.y 

 1894, p. 48. 



Although usually found in pairs and building 

 isolated nests, the Carrion Crow is sometimes gre- 

 garious like the Rook. In the hill districts of mid- 

 Wales, where the former bird to a great extent 



