JACKDAW. 87 



generally being mixed with the winter flocks. The eggs 

 are laid from the end of April to the beginning of May, 

 and are five or six in number. 



CAEEION-CEOW. 



CoRvus coRONE, Linnseus. 



Local Names — Craiv, Crow, Carr-Croic, Bonp, Doup- 

 Croic, Ket-Crow. {Kct = old flesh or filth.) 



Kesident, but getting scarcer every year, especially 

 where there is any game-preserving ; the nests being 

 riddled with shot, while the birds are tempted with all 

 sorts of dainties, merely seasoned with a little strj^ch- 

 nine, laid conspicuously in the places they frequent. 

 Persecution, however, has made them so wary, that 

 they are exceedingly difficult to get rid of ; while they 

 are so persevering that they will build two or even three 

 nests in a season, if the first be destroyed, and fresh eggs 

 are regularly found in June. Being wild and solitary in 

 their habits. Crows oftenest fix their nest in retired woods 

 or in the sparsely-scattered trees of unfrequented doughs 

 and gullies, and there it is seldom at a great height from 

 the ground : indeed, among the hills of the Lake 

 district it is placed in thorn-bushes, hardly out of arm's 

 length. A situation from which there is a good look-out 

 is evidently the first requisite, and though high trees 

 are generally chosen for the nest in the vicinity of a 

 farm or dwelling-house, I have seen one year after year, 

 in the very heart of the strictest game-preserve I know, 

 on quite a low tree, and with only the advantage of a 

 good view all round. The nests are very thickly lined 

 with sheep's-wool, and the eggs are laid early in April, 

 the number being five or six. 



