so 



insect, the cockchafer, (Scarabteus Melolontha Lin.) 

 the larva, of which, as well as the perfect insect, they 

 devour in incredible numbers. 



4. CORNIX. HOODED CROW. 



C. Canus, capite jugulo alis caudaque nigris. 

 Shaw. 



The bill is black ; the irides dusky ; the head, 

 neck, wings, and tail are black ; the back, and all 

 the under parts are pale ash colour, the legs are 

 black. 



Weight 22oz. length 2 1 inches. 



Migrates, visiting us in October, and retiring 

 northward in April to breed. 



The eggs are like those of the common crow. 



, This bird, my assistant observed in Orkney, to break shell- 

 fish, by letting them fall upon the rocks from a great 

 height. 



The hooded crow is rarely seen in this part of the coun- 

 try, but is frequent on the shores of our tide rivers, during 

 the winter. We have seen it in most parts of the High- 

 lands, Scotland, in July and August. 



A remarkable instance of a male of this species, pairing 

 with the female carrion crow, (corvus corone) we witnessed 

 at Aroquhar, on Lock Long, and this singular attachment, 

 had subsisted three or four years, their nest was like that of 

 carrion crow, in the fork of a tall pine, and the young 

 brood had already flown, but we were unable to procure one 

 of them, or to ascertain which of the parents they most 

 resembled. W* 



