PERCHING BIRDS. 123 



Shetland islands, where they are numerous, that 

 up to so late a period as 1835, a reward of two- 

 pence a crow, was paid by the local authorities ; 

 in consequence of which many were annually de- 

 stroyed. They are clever birds, and when fre- 

 quenting the shore in search of fish, may fre- 

 quently be seen, after vain attempts to break 

 through the hard shell of a cockle or mussel, to 

 seize it in their bill, mount with it to a great 

 height, and then let it fall on a hard rock, by 

 which means it is broken, and the bird has only 

 to reap the benefit of his contrivance. Dr. 

 Fleming, in his "Philosophy of Zoology," con- 

 siders instinct, in this degree, as bordering closely 

 upon intelligence, as implying a notion of power 

 and also of cause and effect. 



In the southern parts of England the hooded 

 crow is only a winter visitor, but in the north it is 

 resident throughout the year. On the first appear- 

 ance of those birds in this country they frequent sea 

 marshes, and the banks of tide rivers, inhabiting 

 both sides of the Thames as high up as within a 

 few miles of London, and when inland they visit 

 the open downs and plains. The head, wings, and 

 tail are a shiny bluish black, the rest of the 

 plumage smoke grey. 



Placed among the crows, but more nearly re- 

 sembling the jackdaw and starling in manners 



