29 



are practically fixed, flies off, wily bird that he is, and 

 thus obtains a start of a few seconds on his wife. 

 She follows him at full speed, but he, thanks to his 

 start, usually finds his twig first, but as he cannot, 

 or, will not, do any building himself, he has to wait, 

 stick in beak, until his better half has found one. If 

 she is unusually slow he will go and hurry her up. If 

 she secures her stick first she does not wait for him, 

 so he has to accompany her empty-handed, or rather 

 empty-beaked. He will not let her out of his sight. 



Sometimes, after adding some material to the 

 nest, the birds indulge in a little mild spooning on a 

 house-top or other convenient locality. The spoon- 

 ing takes the form of head tickling. Crows, although 

 great sticklers for etiquette, do not seem to object 

 to such public demonstrations of connubial affection. 

 But these interludes do not last long. Crows, while 

 nest-building, are models of industry. A pair must 

 add to the nest nearly thirty twigs in an hour, and 

 the whole structure is completed in about two days. 

 Crows take fallen twigs by preference, but if these 

 be not available they wrench off' green branches. 

 Soon after the nest is completed the hen deposits 

 in it two, three, or four green eggs splotched w^ith 



