LITTORAL LAND BIRDS. 267 
peculiarities of the site determining the size of 
the structure to a great extent. The four or five 
eggs—sometimes half-a-dozen—are pale blue, 
spotted and blotched with olive-brown of different 
shades, and gray. The Jackdaw has the general 
colour of the plumage black, shading into gray on 
the nape and sides of the neck. 
HOODED CROW. 
This species, the Corvus cornzx of Linnzeus and 
ornithologists generally, is only known as a winter 
visitor to certain parts of England, but is a common 
resident in Scotland and Ireland. From October 
to March the Hooded, Gray, or Royston Crow, is a 
very familiar object on the low-lying coasts of East 
Anglia. Its migrations to this district from the: 
Continent are extremely interesting. All day long 
the birds may be seen coming in from over the 
sea in flocks and parties, crossing from continental 
Europe along a due west course. Sometimes great 
flights of this Crow pour across the North Sea— 
columns of migrating birds estimated to be forty 
or more miles in breadth, and travelling at the 
enormous speed of more than a hundred miles 
per hour! All the winter through Hooded Crows 
frequent the salt-marshes or the grain fields close to 
the sea. The food of the Hooded Crow is not 
known to differ from that of allied species, the bird 
being practically omnivorous. There are few in- 
stances known of this Crow breeding in England, but 
