BRITAIN'S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 235 



only a few wisps of down. Rather over a month elapses 

 before the young Crows leave the nest. They are less 

 glossy in plumage than their parents, of which the male 

 is slightly the brighter. They are often taken from the 

 nest, for they make passable pets, and develop slight 

 imitative powers. 



THE HOODED CROW 



(Corvus cornix). 

 Plate 73. 



The parts of the British Isles where the Carrion- 

 Crow is rare or unknown are inhabited by the closely 

 allied Gray, Hooded, or ' Royston ' Crow. These regions 

 are Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the northern and 

 western parts of Scotland. The dividing-line between the 

 areas of the two birds in the last-named country roughly 

 coincides with the geological division between Highlands 

 and Lowlands — a diagonal from the 'Clyde' to the 'Dee' 

 area. The demarcation is by no means regular or dis- 

 tinct, however, for much overlapping takes place, and 

 the two kinds interbreed freely. In winter gi'eat numbers 

 arrive on our eastern seaboard, and the Hoodie becomes 

 widespread. Exceptionally, a few remain to nest in what 

 is strictly the Black Crow area. 



Those that reach our shores are but a small pro- 

 portion of those that emigrate in autumn from northern 

 Europe, in westerly and south-westerly directions. There 

 is no difficulty in accoimting for these vast hordes, for 

 in Russia, Scandinavia, and northern Germany the Gray 

 Crow is an abundant breeding-bird, and also in some of 

 the Mediterranean countries. Between these two areas, 

 however, there extends across central Europe a belt of 



