191 7-] Birds in the Ancre Valley. 529 



distant. In the daytime they sallied foi'th to the shell-torn 

 muddy slopes south of the river, venturing as far as the 

 support trenches when things were quiet. I have also 

 observed them further back fluttering over partridge snares 

 set by some French gunners. Tliey were much in evidence 

 at Grandcourt shortly after that village was taken. When 

 we had left the shelled zone behind, they were much 

 rarer. 



Corvus cornix. Hooded Crow. 



This species was only twice observed in the firing zone : 

 once on 29 December, when one flew over our battery 

 position near Hamel, and again on 19 January, when two 

 were seen near the Passerelle de Magenta. 



Corvus frugilegus. Rook. 



The Rook was very common, and frequented the fields 

 round Martinsart, Englebelmer, and Aveluy Wood. It was 

 most numerous in early November, when flocks consisting 

 of several hundreds of birds were seen. I have never 

 noticed them in the vicinity of the trenches except on 

 7 February, when a company was observed, during a spell 

 of hard frost, feeding on biscuits and other fragments of 

 food lying about the old front-line system near Beaumont- 

 Hamel. They were again met with in considerable numbers 

 near Behagnies. 



Pica pica. Magpie. 



The Magpie is remarkably numerous in the Ancre valley, 

 and individuals were always to be found quite close to the 

 front line wherever a few trees were left standing. There 

 were several of these birds in Grandcourt and Petit Mir- 

 aumout on the day after they fell into our hands. Near 

 Behagnies on 28 March I counted fifty perching on one 

 tree. 



On 30 October, near Mailly-Maillet, I saw a Magpie fly 

 up to a crater made by a shell a few seconds previously, 

 and begin to feed on the grubs among the freshly scattered 

 earth. 



SER. X. VOL. V. 2n 



