268 Birds. 



The croaking of the Haven was formerly considered a 

 note of ill omen : 



" The Raven croaked as she sat at her meal, 

 And the old woman knew what he said ; 

 And she grew pale at the Raven's tale, 

 And sickened and went to her hed." 



THE CARE ION CHOW. (Corvus corone.) 



THIS bird is less in size than the raven. The bill is 

 strong, thick, and straight. The general colour is black, 

 except the extremities of the feathers, which are of a 

 greyish tint. His delight is to feed upon carcasses and 

 dead animals, or malefactors exposed on the gibbet. 

 He roosts upon trees, and takes both animal and vege- 

 table food. Crows, like rooks, are gregarious, and often 

 fly in large companies in the fields or in the woods. 

 On the upland moors, Crows occupy the place which 

 rooks fill in the low country ; and as the Crow has a 

 very coarse and uncouth voice, the Lowlanders of Scot- 

 land are in the habit of saying that the Highland rooks 

 '* speak Gaelic." They are great destroyers of partridges' 

 eggs, as they often pierce them with their bills, and 

 carry them in that manner through the air to a great 

 distance to feed their young. The female lays five or 

 six eggs. 



Mr. Montagu states that he once saw a Crow in pur- 

 suit of a pigeon, at which it made several pounces, like 



