CRO WS 



i°5 



plumage. It thrives on any soil and in all climates, and ranges over the whole 

 of Europe and Asia, from the latitude of the Mediterranean to the Arctic Ocean, 

 and in America as far south as Mexico and Guatemala. It is frequently seen in 

 southern Europe, and is common near the Danube, but in Germany is now 

 rare, chiefly on account of the numbers destroyed ; the same being the case in 

 many other countries, especially England. 



The carrion-crow (C. corone) resorts to woods and larcre ever- 

 Carrion-Crow. . . to 



green forests, copses with underwood, single trees in fields near 



streams, bushes adjoining fields or meadows, and marshes. It prefers plains to 



mountains, and is particularly fond of the shore, even where it is rocky. Unlike 



the rook, the carrion-crow leads a solitary existence, frequenting the fork of some 



isolated tree, or some rocky ledge, where never more than one nest is to be found. 



Exceptionally it may nest on the ground. If a good spot has been selected, 



this is generally used for many years, fresh material being annually added, till 



at last the nest becomes of enormous bulk. Sometimes the eggs are not laid before 



the end of April. In autumn the young migrate with other crows, to return from 



the south at the end of February or beginning of March. Many of the old birds 



stay on the Continent during the winter, and often come into the smaller towns 



and villages for food. Cautious and courageous in disposition, the crow will not 



only drive off all birds-of-prey, but will actually attack the larger ones ; while on 



the small kinds it swoops down from a height, so that even falcons and hawks 



find it a difficult bird to deal with. Occasionally, but rarely, carrion-crows 



assemble in flocks as if they were rooks. There is scarcely anything a crow will 



not eat, although it lives principally on animal substances. Crows frequently 



resort to the seashore and the estuaries, and the banks of rivers where the waters 



are tidal. Here they feed upon the refuse and shellfish, being frequently 



seen to fly up with the larger shells, and drop them from a height in order 



to break them. 



, M Next in order comes the hooded crow (C. comix), which differs 



Hooded Crow. .... 



from the last species in being grey, except on the head, throat, wings, 



tail, and legs, which are black. In other respects — as in its manner of living, etc. 



— there is no difference between the two birds. The hooded crow has a very 



extensive geographical distribution, but in many countries the carrion-crow will 



be in one district, while in another its place is taken by the hooded crow, though 



in some places both are present. In Germany the Elbe may be said to form a 



line between the nesting-haunts of these two crows ; but in Brunswick, Anhalt, 



and Mecklenburg, both live together, although here as also in Schleswig- 



Holstein the carrion - crow predominates. Hybrids are often met with. The 



hooded crow is always local and generally resident, its numbers being swelled 



every year by flocks migrating, the headquarters of the species being Russia, and 



its migrating line east and west. 



No bird is better known than the rook (C. frugilegus), and no 

 colony of nests more familiar than a rookery. On the Continent, • 

 as in England, the rook builds in parks and large gardens in the neighbourhood 



