134 BIRDS OF LOCH AND MOUNTAIN 



is fortunate enough to come upon one of these, his 

 chief aim is to pick out their eyes, which are 

 specially palatable to his taste. 



Should a Hoodie find a Grouse or Pheasant 

 sitting on her nest, he waits patiently in the vicinity 

 till the unsuspecting victim leaves her eggs in search 

 of food, when the Crow immediately flies to the 

 spot and steals as many eggs as he has time. 



Sometimes the Grouse surprises him in the act 

 and manages to drive him away, but this is seldom 

 the case. 



However, it is but rarely that he manages to steal 

 the eggs of the Lapwing, as one or other of these birds 

 is always on guard ; and whenever the Hoodie 

 or any species of the Crow family, for that matter 

 makes his appearance, he is immediately driven 

 off by the angry rushes and swoops of the enraged 

 Lapwings. These latter will attack almost any 

 bird straying near their eggs or young ; and I have 

 seen a large number of them swooping furiously 

 at an old ccck Pheasant, which ducked and rushed 

 about as if he had quite lost his head. 



Some time ago I was visiting a very large colony 

 of the Common and Lesser Tern, when suddenly I 

 became aware of a tremendous uproar and saw 

 that a Crow had wandered over the nesting grounds. 

 Hundreds of infuriated Terns were swooping and 

 pecking at him, and he was flying from the danger 

 zone as fast as ever he could. 



On the whole, I think that as regards the Grey 

 Crow there is very little decrease in Scotland, as it 

 nests in safety all along the coast and also in 

 most of the deer forests, although banished from 

 almost every estate where game preserving is 

 practised. 



