The Carrion Crow 



BOYS and girls who do not know much 

 about the feathered inhabitants of 

 the country frequently mix this bird up 

 in the most hopeless manner with the rook. 



They call every bird that is black and 

 larger than a jackdaw, a crow. This is 

 quite wrong. Rooks breed in colonies and 

 fly about in flocks, whereas crows nest in 

 isolated pairs and seldom go about in 

 flocks. 



The character of the Carrion Crow is 

 almost as black as its plumage. It is a 

 very accomplished egg thief and is in 

 consequence cordially hated by all game- 

 keepers. Farmers also have good reason 

 to dislike it, for it will attack a sickly 

 sheep or lamb with the utmost cruelty. 



In the winter our native stock of birds 

 of this species is greatly increased by the 

 arrival of migrants from the Continent, 

 many of which do not return, but endea- 



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