246 HOODED CROW. 



to Slavonia ; but in Switzerland, France and Spain, the bird is only a 

 winter-visitor. It nests, however, in the islands of Majorca, Corsica 

 and Sardinia ; while on the mainland of Italy, Sicily and in the 

 Cyclades, it is resident. To North-west Africa it is merely a visitor, 

 but in Egypt it is very abundant where trees exist, breeding in 

 February and March ; it is also found in Syria ; while eastward it 

 can be traced as far as the Persian Gulf, where it meets with the 

 whiter C. capellamis. A third race, drab-grey on the lighter parts 

 (named by Mr. Oates C. sharpii), visits North-west India in winter, 

 and inhabits Afghanistan, Turkestan, and Siberia as far as Tomsk. 

 The area between that place and Krasnoiarsk — about 350 miles 

 east — is said to be occupied by hybrids between this bird and a 

 large form of the Carrion-Crow ; the latter becoming the repre- 

 sentative in Eastern Siberia. 



In the south of Ireland the Hooded Crow sometimes has eggs 

 by the middle of March (Zool. 1883, p. 337), but in Scotland it is 

 later in breeding. According to circumstances, the nest is placed 

 on inland rocks, sea-cliffs, tall trees, low bushes, clumps of papyrus, 

 on the ground among heather, or even on the roofs of huts. The 

 materials are similar to those used by the Carrion-Crow, and the 

 eggs, 4-5 in number, cannot with certainty be distinguished, but 

 they are often slightly longer, paler, and of a brighter green ground- 

 colour. The habits and food of the two Crows are similar, though 

 perhaps the Hooded Crow is rather the bolder robber ; while I have 

 seen a young one greedily devouring the carcase of a recently shot 

 member of the same brood. The call-notes are said to be quite 

 distinguishable by practised ears. 



The thoroughbred Hooded Crow has the head, throat, wings, tail 

 and thighs black, glossed with greenish-purple ; the rest of the body 

 ashy-grey of varying tint, with a few dark streaks down the centre of 

 the breast-feathers ; the remainder as in the Carrion-Crow, the grey 

 colour forming the sole distinction. To some extent the hybrids 

 are fertile, and Seebohm found every intermediate state of plumage 

 between the two forms : a large case of specimens illustrating 

 these gradations has been presented by him to the Natural History 

 Museum at South Kensington. Northern examples of the Hooded 

 Crow are rather larger than those resident in the south of Europe, 

 and also, as a rule, than Carrion-Crows from Scotland. Professor 

 Newton has expressed with his usual perspicacity the reasons for 

 not admitting the specific distinctness of these Crows ; but it has 

 seemed expedient to treat them under separate headings in the 

 present work. 



