KEEPERS AND KEEPERING 409 



he comes up in his hundreds from his recruiting ground by the 

 sea, and if not watched and destroyed will do incalculable harm 

 both to young birds and eggs. His reputation dates from pre- 

 sporting days. The Celtic name of the bird is " flannag," which 

 means "kill" or "slay." A Moray shire proverb says: "The 

 Guile, the Gordon and the hooded crow are the three worst 

 things Moray ever saw." This is a high testimonial of rascality 

 from a place known to old-time raiders as " The laich of Moray, 

 where all men have their prey." 



To see the hooded crow with small beady eye hunt a hillside, 

 drop down beside a pair of Grouse whom he suspects of having 

 a nest, to watch his casual walk round as if merely on a tour of 

 inspection, the fierceness with which he darts at and drives 

 away the pair from their eggs or young, returning again and 

 again until the last of these has been taken, leaves no thought 

 of pity even in the most tender heart. The hooded crow usually 

 nests in the birch woods or plantations at the edge of a moor. 

 It is fortunately easy to kill the pair in the nesting season, 

 and they can be trapped with bait at all times of the year. In 

 the nesting season there is no bait like an egg, and even if the 

 " hoodie " does not fall a victim to this bait, it may prove the 

 death of a stoat, a rook, or some other equally objectionable 

 scourge. 



Rooks are nearly as destructive as hoodies or carrion crows Rooks. 

 on some moors, for the supply is inexhaustible, and the nests 

 being at a distance from the moor cannot as a rule be destroyed. 



Jackdaws are often a serious pest upon a moor, and should Jackdaws, 

 be kept in check with a firm hand. Their numbers can best 

 be reduced by harrying them in the breeding season^ If the old 

 birds are kept off their nests in frosty weather the eggs will 

 become addled. 



An interesting example of the damage caused by jackdaws 

 is furnished by a correspondent of the Committee who rents a 

 moor in Scotland. Before he took the moor the average bag 

 was about sixty brace, and the ground was overrun with vermin, 

 more especially with jackdaws, which nested in the rabbit holes 



