THE CARRION CROW IN THE BALANCE 47 



up any floating object which may form part of 

 their exceedingly varied dietaiy. It is amusing 

 to see the carrion crow fishing up his dinner in 

 this way, for he does not venture to fold his 

 wings like the gull and examine and take up the 

 morsel at leisure ; he drops upon the water 

 rather awkwardly, wetting his legs and belly, 

 but keeps w r orking his wings until he has secured 

 the floating object, then rises heavily with it in 

 his beak. Another curious habit of some Lon- 

 don crows in the south-west district, is to alight, 

 dove-like, on the roofs and chimney-stacks of 

 tall houses. 



In an article on this bird which appeared in 

 the ' Fortnightly Eeview ' for May 1895, 1 wrote : 

 ' It sometimes greatly adds to our knowledge of 

 any wild creature to see it tamed not confined 

 in any way, nor with its wings clipped, but free 

 to exercise all its faculties and to come and go 

 at will. Some species in this condition are very 

 much more companionable than others, and 

 probably none so readily fall into the domestic 

 life as the various members of the crow family ; 

 for they are more intelligent and adaptive, and 

 nearer to the mammalians in their mental cha- 

 racter than most birds. It is therefore curious 



