90 HILL BIRDS OF SCOTLAND 



Hoodie never sights him without giving immediate chase. 

 The young Hoodies grow rapidly, and it is during their 

 youth that their parents make such inroads into the eggs 

 of the Grouse nesting near. These stolen eggs are never 

 taken to the nest itself ; they are swallowed by the adult 

 Crow and arc rcgm'gitated for the young. It is after the 

 storms of snow that frequently sweep over the higher 

 hills during the month of May that the Hoodies have 

 their greatest feast. Such a storm causes many of the 

 higher-nesting Grouse, Ptarmigan, and Golden Plover to 

 leave their nests, and after the storm has passed and the 

 snow has melted the Hoodies patrol the moors, reaping 

 a rich and incidentally harmless harvest. Truly it is an 

 ill wind that blows good to none. 



In a deer forest the Grey Crow has his uses. Many an 

 old or sickly deer falls a victim to the rigours of winter, and 

 were it not for the Hoodies, its body would long encumber 

 the ground. Then again, in autumn when a stag is shot 

 and " gralloched," the entrails are left on the hillside, 

 and so sure are the Crows of the impending feast, that 

 shortly after the report of the rifle they may be seen 

 winging their way from various parts of the hill towards 

 the spot whence the report came. To quite a number 

 of stalkers the Hoodie is known as " the Raven." A 

 friend of mine, on making his first visit to Scotland's 

 largest deer forest, inquired of a stalker whom he met 

 whether the Raven was common in the district. Now, 

 as a matter of fact, it is almost unknown hereabouts, 

 so that when my friend was informed that the " ground 

 was black wi' Ravens," he was in considerable perplexity, 

 till he realised that the " Ravens " were Grey Crows. 

 In this forest the Hoodies are exceptionally numerous 

 during the nesting season, but during the winter some 

 of them at least must migrate to the coast, where 

 food is much more plentiful than at an elevation of from 



