186 HISTORY OF 



other sits upon the tree to guard it ; and thus in 

 the space of three or four days, with a skirmish 

 now and then between, the pair have fitted up a 

 commodious nest, composed of sticks without? 

 and of fibrous roots and long grass within. From 

 the instant the female begins to lay, all hostilities 

 are at an end ; not one of the whole grove, that 

 a little before treated her so rudely, will now ven- 

 ture to molest her ; so that she brings forth her 

 brood with patient tranquillity. Such is the se- 

 verity with which even native rooks are treated 

 by each other ; but if a foreign rook should at- 

 tempt to make himself a denizen of their society, 

 he would meet with no favour ; the whole grove 

 would at once be up in arms against him, and ex- 

 pel him without mercy. 



In some countries these birds are considered 

 as a benefit, in others as a nuisance : their chief 

 food is the worm of the dorbeetle, and corn ; 

 thus they may be said to do as much service by 

 destroying that noxious insect, as they do injury 

 by consuming the produce of the husbandman's 

 industry. 



To this tribe of the crow kind, some foreign 

 sorts might be added : I will take notice only of 

 one, which, from the extraordinary size and fa- 

 shion of its bill, must not be passed in silence. 

 This is the Calao, or horned Indian raven, which 

 exceeds the common raven in size and habits of 

 depredation. But what he differs in from all 

 other birds is the beak, which, by its length and 

 curvature at the end, appears designed for ra- 

 pine j but then it has a kind of horn standing 



