A SUBURBAN ESTATE 45 



young bird was successfully reared. The carrion 

 crows in North London are becoming a nuisance; 

 there was a number of nests last year at Winchmore 

 Hill, and the young from these have made a large 

 increase. Last spring a very great number of nests 

 were robbed by these birds. They are becoming so 

 common that, instead of keeping in pairs as they did 

 years ago when in these parts they were considered 

 rare birds they now flock together after the manner 

 of rooks, and I have seen three carrion crows' nests 

 within a few yards of each other. 



Two pairs of cuckoos placed their eggs in nests on 

 this suburban estate. One of these eggs was found 

 in a robin's nest, and a day cr two after the egg was 

 placed therein, the robin was found dead outside the 

 nest. Probably the cuckoo visited the nest while the 

 robin was sitting, and the smaller bird attacked the 

 larger ; however, the real cause of the little tragedy 

 will never be known. My opinion is that cuckoos 

 often do visit their eggs to see that they are all right, 

 and very likely this particular one did this. Robins 

 are at all times pugnacious birds, and I suspect that 

 this one got killed in a fight with a supposed enemy. 

 The little bird's neck had been pierced, and this was 

 the cause of death. The camera pictures the tragedy 

 just as it was seen. One often comes upon pictures 

 like this in Nature, and they just show that wild 

 nature has its troubles and misery as well as human 



