CROWS. 



i6i 



to grass and hedges of every kind. When in search of food, it will venture 

 for some little distance inland, and has been observed following the plough- 

 man, after the manner of the rook, busily engaged in picking up the grubs that 

 are unearthed. Sometimes it will feed upon berries and grain, but evidently 

 prefers animal food, pecking its prey out of the crevices among the rocks with 



Fig. 86.— The Cuovgh {FregHus graatlus). 



great rapidity and certainty of aim, its long and curved beak aiding it in 

 drawing the concealed insects out of their hiding-places. Cornwall is the 

 chief nesting-place of the chough, but it is also found in many other parts of 

 England and the British Isles; and the celebrated lines in " King Lear" are 

 too familiarly known to need quoting as a proof that the chough was in Shak- 

 speare's time an inhabitant of the Dover cliffs. It is, however, also found in 

 many other parts of the world, having been observed in Europe, Asia, and 

 several districts of Africa." 



The nest is made of sticks, lined with wool and hair. It is generally placed 

 in cavities in high cliffs, or in old castles and church towers near the sea. The 

 eggs, four or five in number, are of a yellowish white, spotted with ash-grey 

 and light brown. 



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