THE CROW. 



In young- birds, the crow is to be distinguished from 

 the rook only by the note, which is much more hoarse 

 than that of the latter bird. In adults the difference is 

 greater — the bill of the crow being rather more convex 

 towards the end, and the reflected bristles at the base 

 being always perfect. Crows keep in pairs all the year, 

 seldom congregating except to regale on some carcase, 

 or in winter to roost. They frequently hide their food 

 till hunger becomes pressing. The nest is composed of 

 sticks, plastered with earth, having soft materials laid 

 on it, and generally placed in the forked branches of 

 a tree. 



The crow is a laborious bird; he goes to bed after 

 the rook, and is well worthy the imitation of our young 

 friends generally, in his keeping up a habit of early 

 rising. Long before the rook is up, this bird is on the 

 wing, and from the oak where he had found a dormitory, 

 he announces, with a loud and hollow croak, the ap- 

 proach of man. 



