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138 BIRD GALLERY. 
from eight to twenty feet from the ground on a branch or in a high 
bush. The nest is open at the top and constructed of short twigs, with 
a lining of fine roots and grass. The eggs, from four to seven in 
number, are greenish-grey, speckled with olive-brown, 
Norfolk: nest with eggs, May ; young birds, June. 
Presented by Lord Walsingham. 
No. 3. NUTCRACKER. (Nucifraga caryocatactes.) 
A native of the pine-clad regions of Europe and Siberia, and a very 
irregular autumn visitor to Great Britain, about twenty occurrences 
having been recorded. Large flocks are sometimes formed in the 
autumn, when considerable migrations take place in search of food, 
and stragglers occasionally reach our shores. The nest, which in the 
present instance was placed in the fork of a spruce-fir tree about fifteen 
feet from the ground, is not roofed over, but half-domed nests are occa- 
sionally found. The eggs vary from two to five in number, and are pale 
bluish-green spotted with ash-brown. 
Hungary, April. 
Presented by C. G. Danford, Esq. 
No. 4. ROOK. (‘Trypanocorax frugilegus.) 
A common resident and generally distributed over the wooded and 
cultivated districts of the British Islands. Gregarious in its habits, 
this bird breeds in large companies, resorting early in spring to the 
same “rookery” year after year. The nests are generally placed on 
the tops of tall trees in the neighbourhood of houses and constructed of 
sticks and twigs, lined with rootlets, wool, ete. From four to six eggs 
are laid, and resemble those of the Hooded and Carrion Crows. The 
food consists chiefly of insects and their larvee ; but in dry seasons, 
when these are scarce, the nests of other birds are systematically robbed 
of their eggs. 
Bedfordshire : nest with eggs, 18th of April; young birds, 13th of May. 
Presented by Admiral Mark Pechell. 
No. 5. CARRION-CROW. (Corvus corone.) 
Distributed throughout England, but local and rare in the north 
and west of Scotland and in Ireland, where the Hooded Crow takes 
its place. The two species not infrequently interbreed. The nest, 
composed of sticks and warmly lined with wool, is generally placed 
on a tree or ledge of rock commanding a wide outlook. The eggs 
closely resemble those of the Rook and Hooded Crow, and are four 
