212 THE CARRION CROW. 



Like the Eaven, the Carrion Crow is omiiivorous, bnt 

 animal food of any kind is preferred by it, especially carrion. 



The toil more grateful as the task more low ; 

 So carrion is the quarry of the Crow. 



Mallet. 



At the sea- side in winter it searches the shore for dead 

 fish, and frequents the outer reefs at low tide to secure what 

 food it can find there. During the severe winters of 1878- 

 1881, when great numbers of Fieldfares, Eedwings, and 

 other small birds about the sea-coast perished from cold 

 and hunger, their emaciated bodies were eagerly devoured 

 by Carrion and Hooded Crows, which hovered round wait- 

 ing for their prey. 



The nest is usually placed in a Scotch fir, or in the 

 fork of a tall ash or elm in a plantation. I have frequently 

 seen it in the neighbourhood of Paxton in strips near the 

 Tweed and the Whitadder. It is usually built of sticks 

 and roots, and lined with moss, wool, and other soft 

 materials. The eggs, which are from four to six in number, 

 are very like those of the Kook, but larger ; being generally 

 bluish green, spotted and blotched with olive-brown. The 

 Carrion Crow is a comparatively late breeder, and is found 

 nesting in April and May. It is usually very wary when 

 sitting on the nest, slipping quietly off long before a person 

 can get within gunshot, unless when the eggs are nearly 

 hatched. It may easily be distinguished from the Eook by 

 the black feathers which cover the parts at the base of 

 the beak, these parts in the adult Eook being bare of 

 feathers. 



This bird did not escape the notice of the superstitious 

 in the county in olden times. Mr. Hardy writes that " It 

 was once believed that when people played at cards on 

 Sunday morning after a late Saturday night, the devil came 



