88 MID-APRIL 
Crows generally possess much intelligence 
and look wise birds. They have keen eye- 
sight, and their senses of smel] and hearing 
are highly developed. The possession of 
these faculties naturally makes them very 
wary and apprehensive of danger, and there- 
fore cute, which may be taken in a good or a 
bad sense according to the education of the 
observer. 
*k x x *k 
It was getting late, so we packed up. On 
the way home Ted spotted a fresh, neatly 
moulded nest in the lower branches of an 
alder ; it was probably a Chaffinch’s judging 
by its regular round shape, but without eggs. 
Lastly, in looking round a thick patch of 
blackberry near the water, we heard a scram- 
bling in the middle of it, and presently out 
flew a mallard. After much search we 
found the nest, it was in the very thick of 
the brambles and approachable only with 
difficulty because of the thorns: it had ten 
eggs. (This nest entirely disappeared a few 
days later—doubtless the carrion crow’s 
