HOODED CROW. 721 



From those northern isles, let us betake ourselves to a 

 southern and inland county, taking j\Ir Harley's report as to 

 the demeanour of the Hooded Crow there : — " I hav^e very 

 little to say about the Grey or Royston Crow, Corvus Cornix, 

 which comes to us towards the close of the year, but is not 

 very common in these parts. It feeds in our pastures along 

 with the Rook, Jackdaw, and Starling, and appears to live in 

 harmony with them during the time of its sojourn. An old 

 coachman, who for at least twenty years drove the London and 

 Leeds Express Coach from Loughborough to Mansfield across 

 Sherwood Forest, used to say that he knew to a day when the 

 Grey Crows would come upon the Forest. That day he said 

 was Guy Fawkes' day of notable memory, the 5tli of Novem- 

 ber. Now whether this story of the old coachman was true or 

 not, I shall not take upon myself to argue ; but I know some 

 of our migrating birds are punctual almost to a day, when they 

 visit us. In Gilbert White's Miscellaneous Observations we 

 find this note : — ' May 22d. The Flycatcher comes to my 

 vines, where probably it was bred, or had a nest last year. It 

 is the latest summer bird, and appears almost to a day.' Hav- 

 ing remained with us through the winter, the Hooded Crow 

 departs early in spring." 



Very few instances are given of this bird's breeding in 

 England, the most southern locality being in Norfolk, as men- 

 tioned by JNIr Hunt. It is a very remarkable circumstance 

 that of the Grey Crows which have bred in that country seve- 

 ral are recorded as having paired with the Carrion Crow. 

 Thus, Mr Williamson states that " the Hooded Crow has been 

 known to breed near Scarborough on two or three occasions. 

 In one instance, a female Hooded Crow was observed to pair 

 with a Carrion Crow on a large tree at Hackness, where they 

 succeeded in rearing their young." Two or three instances of 

 the same kind are mentioned as having taken place in the 

 south of Scotland ; which would lead us to believe that a 

 Hooded Crow left perhaps accidentally in a district where there 

 are none of its kind, may readily pair with the Carrion Crow. 

 In the northern isles, this never happens, for the Grey Crows 

 are there abundant, and the Black Crow never or very seldom 



VOL. III. 3 A 



