HOODED CROW. 91 



description, that " it is a bird common in these parts 

 upon the sea-coasts, the shape of it is like that of other 

 Crows, the head and wings being black and the body 

 blue ; its food for the most part are muscles [sic-], and I 

 have often with admiration observed these birds to peck 

 [sic] up pebble-stones, and then to soar with them in the 

 air to a considerable height, then to let fall the stones 

 amongst the beds of shell-fishes which most commonly 

 break some of them, they afterwards alight and feed 

 upon their prey. These fowl are said to breed in the 

 Isle of Man, but are not used as food." 



EOOK. 



CoilVUS FRUGILEGUS, LinUffiUS. 



Local Names — C'raic, Crow. 



Eesident, abundant and increasing, both on arable 

 and grazing lands, and only falling off in numbers where 

 suitable trees for nesting begin to get scarce. The 

 neighbourhood of a dense population is no hindrance to 

 the formation of a Eookery if any heavy timber be 

 aboui, and in the first number of the Manchester 

 Guardian, published on May 5, 1821, an account is 

 given of the nesting of two pairs in that year in a small 

 garden belonging to Mrs. Halls, at the top of King 

 Street, one of the busiest parts of the town. The same 

 place was tenanted in the following year, but Mr. Black- 

 wall says {Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 1847) that the birds 

 finally left owing to Jackdaws, which had commenced 



Mr. Ealph Johnson was Vicar of Brignal, near Greta Bridge, 

 Yorkshire ; he was the correspondent, friend, and assistant of 

 Eay, and died May 7, 1695, aged 60 years. 



