CROWS AND ROOKS. 189 



wear, as a distinguishing mark of their sacred profession, 

 two or three Raven-skins, fixed to the girdle behind their 

 back, in such a manner that the tails stick out horizon- 

 tally from the body. They have also a split Raven-skin 

 on the head, so fastened as to let the beak project from the 

 forehead. 



That birds, if entirely unmolested, will become tame and 

 fearless, has been frequently noticed. During Captain Back's 

 Arctic expedition, two Ravens appeared as his earliest visitors, 

 announcing the approach of Spring ; he would not suffer 

 them to be disturbed, and in a few days they consequently 

 became so familiar as scarcely to move ten paces when any 

 one passed them : they were the only living things, he adds, 

 that held communion with the party, and it was a pleasure 

 to see them gambol in their glossy plumage on the white 

 snow. 



CROWS AND ROOKS. 



PEOPLE who live in towns, or pay little attention to these 

 matters, would no doubt consider the above-mentioned birds 

 as one and the same, alike as they are in size and colour, 

 and seen, as they usually are, spread over our fields, or 

 uttering their well-known cawings on the top of some hedge. 

 They are, however, as distinct in their characters and habits 

 as a hare and a rabbit. The real Crow, commonly called the 

 Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), is the next link in the chain 

 after the Raven, which it resembles far more nearly than it 

 does the Rook. The male and his mate, for example, 

 seldom associate with the rest of their species, except, as we 

 shall show by-and-by, for particular purposes, but generally 

 remain in pairs. Their favourite food, too, like the Raven, 

 is carrion, and they will watch their opportunity, and pounce 

 down on young lambs, or even sheep, when they find them 

 what is called cast, that is, thrown upon their backs in a 

 furrow, and unable to rise. In these cases, the eye is the 

 point which they first attack ; but smaller living prey they 

 _ will also attempt to carry off, to be devoured at leisure. A 



