54 THE HOODED CROW 



The carrion crow is generally seen solitary or in pairs, though the 

 whole family remain together for some time after the young brood 

 are able to fly. At night a company of ten or twelve often roost 

 together, and bands of a like number are frequently seen in the 

 winter time. The nest is placed on the summit of a tall tree, and 

 solitary or remote from other birds, the foundation consisting 

 of sticks and made of considerable size, the inside lined with 

 withered grass, hair of cows and horses, and wool. The eggs, four 

 to six in number, are bluish-green with blotches of brown. The 

 food comprises carrion of all kinds, young hares and rabbits, 'eggs 

 and young of game and poultry. It thrusts its bill through 

 eggs and carries them off, and attacks young lambs and sickly 

 sheep on moorlands, punching out the eyes of its victims. It 

 does not disdain frogs, lizards, and insects, and goes to the sea 

 shore betimes in order to feed on mollusca, crabs, shrimps and fish. 

 The HOODED, GREY-BACKED or ROYSTON CROW (Corvus comix), 

 Fig. 39, is common in Scotland and Ireland, but less so in England, 

 though sometimes common in the northern counties during the 

 winter. It leaves this country about April, yet some remain 

 during the summer and bring up a brood of young. 



FIG. 39. THE HOODED CROW. 



The hooded crow is about 20 in. long. Its head, wings, and 

 tail are black, the rest of the body is a dull smoke-grey. Its nest 

 is similar to that of the carrion crow, and is built on the tops of 

 very high trees, such as the pine, but it is also known to build on 



