Thk Carriox-Crow 173 



combiued attack, otherwise the young chicks of pheasants and partridges would 

 indeed fare badl3^ Lord Lilford observes : — " We have not a word to saj^ in 

 defence of the Carrion-Crow. His habits appear to us to be purely noxious, and 

 neither his personal appearance, voice, or manners in captivity offers anything in 

 extenuation of his natixral evil propensities." 



The flight of the Carriou-Crow is somewhat laboured, though at times very 

 rapid, its wings regularly beating the air ; when approaching the earth it usually 

 wheels round in circles. On the earth it either walks, or, if in a hurry, leaps 

 forward with half opened wings after the fashion of its kind. 



The time of nidification of the Carrion-Crow is from the latter half of April 

 to nearly the end of May (a clutch which I purchased from a shepherd, whose 

 boys had just taken them from a nest near the top of an elm-tree at Iwade near 

 Sheppy, consisted of tliree full-sized eggs and one small yolkless one, all of which 

 were quite fresh on May 25th). The nest is bulky and the same structure is 

 believed to be used and added to year after year ; it is either placed in a niche, 

 or on a ledge of rock, or in a tall tree, — oak, elm, or pine ; but in Holland it is 

 said to be built upon the ground. J. B. Pilley, of Hereford ("Zoologist," 1891, 

 p. 352), records the discovery of a nest containing five eggs on the top of a tall 

 hedge, in some meadows near the city. The nest is somewhat flat and formed of 

 dead sticks, twigs, grass-tussocks and roots, with a lining of fur, wool, feathers 

 or other soft materials neatly smoothed down. The eggs number from four to 

 six, five being a frequent clutch, and are sometimes indistinguishable from those 

 of the Raven, but usually they are somewhat smaller; the ground-colour is bluish- 

 green and the markings which vary considerably in density consist of spots, 

 longitudinal streaks and blotches of olive and olive-brown ; some of the markings 

 are frequently almost black and others almost grey. It is believed that this Crow 

 pairs for life. 



Of the eggs of this species figured on our plate, figs. 233, 234 and 235 are 

 from Mr. Farn's collection, and 236 from that of Mr. Frohawk's ; my own 

 specimens were not varied or characteristic enough to be worth representing. 



The call is a hoarse croak, but some of the other cries of this species are 

 less objectionable. The food of this bird in summer consists of almost any kind 

 of animal too weak or sickly to defend itself, wounded sheep, helpless lambs, the 

 young of hares and rabbits, moles, young poultry, ducks, pheasants, partridges, 

 and grouse; but he does not confine himself entirely to this diet, he also feeds 

 on mollusca, which he extracts from the shells (as mentioned many years ago by 

 Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear) by carrying them up to a considerable height 

 and dropping them on to a stone; stale fish cast up by the waves, and carrion 



VUL. II. • ^'2 



